An Early Start
by Armandhas
Summary: How would you feel after being locked up for 10 years? Follows the canon, but shifts events to suit my story. First Fanfic, critique is highly appreciated. AU-ish, YuukixKaname, RukaxKain and more in development. Rated M for future lime and violence.
1. Chapter 1 Strange Necessity

**Authors Not:**** I has been sometime before I updated and to those that have subscribed, I apologize. I seem to be gathering some personal problems, more with each passing day. **

**I have had neither the time nor the inspiration to write much, I have some and that will be posted soon. In the mean time, I was reviewing my own work and I was not really satisfied. So I took a little bit of time to follow _Shinku no Yuki_'s advise and adjusted the long paragraphs and adjusted small pieces of text. I didn't really change any of the story, just altered a few sentences here and there to make it seem more flowing in my own opinion. In Any case, I'll be replacing all the old chapters and be posting some new ones A.S.A.P.**

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><p><strong>Strange Necessity<strong>

There it was again, that burning sensation in her throat. It felt like a thirst that could not be quenched. It felt like a hunger that could not be sated, let alone satisfied. Every sense in her body was screaming, burning and pushing her to…do what?

She pulled away her covers as quickly and quietly as possible, making sure she did not wake her roommate/ best friend Yori.

She silently slipped out of the door and hurried into the open air where she would feel the cool breeze against her skin. She wore only her thin white nightgown, so the algid night air would luckily not have to pass many barriers to cool down the feverish feeling that was coursing through her body.

She made it out of the dorms faster then she realized and before long she was already at her favorite place, the fountain. Being alone here, surrounded by the quiet rustling of the trees swaying in the gentle night wind, hearing the constant flow of the water fountain calmed her nerves, as it always did. No matter how bad she felt.

She stuck her head in the cold water reveling in the almost freezing effect it had on her skin. She started gulping down as much water as she could, trying to calm the burning in her throat.

When she finally came back up gasping for air, she at last noticed that the thirst was dying down, the burn receding but she knew it would come back.

The new thirst started when she began having that weird dream.

Seriously, she should have been used to strange dreams by now. They used to be of the time that her beloved Lord Kaname saved her from the bloodthirsty vampire all those years ago. Occasionally it would become a nightmare, when Kaname didn't make it before she was completely drained by the crimson eyed monster.

But those nightmares were rare and they only occurred when she hadn't seen Kaname for a long period of time. To be exact, the last time she had had that particular nightmare was before Cross Academy was established and Kaname didn't meet with her for over a month.

But this dream was different (she wasn't even sure if it was a dream), it seemed too real to be a dream, as if it was really happening.

Every night for the last two weeks she hadn't been able sleep properly; each night when she closed her eyes, she met herself. Only it wasn't herself. It looked as if she was standing in front of a mirror, but the reflection displayed a slightly different her.

For instance, where she had shoulder length brown hair, her reflection would have knee-length hair, and where her eyes were copper-brown, the reflection would have Chocolate-brown, almost like Lord Kaname.

But the biggest difference was the aura surrounding the silent reflection. It seemed dark and gave off vibes of anger, maybe even hatred. But the same look also gave her a hint of loneliness and abandonment.

Her silent contemplating was interrupted when she heard a gentle voice calling out to her.

"Yuuki, what are you doing out here at this time of the night?"

She looked over her shoulder to see none other than Kuran Kaname. The man who saved her life ten years ago, the man she looked up to and the man she loved more than anything she could think of.

"Are you feeling well Yuuki? You do not look so well, you are out here without Artemis, in nothing but your nightgown." He spoke up once more.

She shook her head a little to clear out any unwanted thoughts and emotions, never mind the small droplets of water that trickled down the side of her nose and over her lips.

'_What I wouldn't give to be that small drop of water, to feel the softness of those lips__'_Kaname thought to his self as he gazed at the small girl.

"Oh-uh-uh No-nothing Kaname-senpai, I just needed some fresh air." she said feeling the oh-so-familiar blush creep over her cheeks.

Kaname walked up to her and slowly placed his hand on her shoulder, he felt her shiver under his touch. "You are trembling, let me walk you to your dorm. I do not want you to get a cold, my dear Yuuki." and after he said the last two words, he felt her quiver again.

'_Maybe it__'__s not from the cold__'_he smiled to himself.

But when she nodded and looked up to him, shock almost overtook his beautiful features.

'_Did I just see that right, were her eyes…crimson?__'_ but before he even finished his thought he saw nothing but the beautiful copper-brown eyes that he had come to love and adore.

He brushed the thought off, as projecting wants into reality.

He wrapped his jacket around her shivering form and quietly walked her to her room without saying another word. He was glad that she didn't do so either, both afraid to break the comfortable silence that surrounded them.

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><p><strong>So, how was it? I hoped that this one was better than the first version<strong>


	2. Chapter 2 Concern

**Authors Note:**** Next modified chapter.**

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><p><strong>Concern<strong>

A few days had passed since then, but everybody could see that Yuuki was not doing well.

Her skin seemed to pale with each passing hour and the normally angel-like patience she possessed was replaced by a very short fuse. She snapped at practically everyone, even Yori and she never snapped at Yori.

Her job as a prefect required her to make sure the girls from the Day-Class didn't bother the students of the Night-Class, but with her new volatile disposition, the Day-Class girls were now even more afraid of her than they were of Zero.

However, everyone who tried to talk to her about it, received the same answer "None of your damn business."

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><p>Zero was worried enough to even go to Kaname and ask what he had done.<p>

"What did you do to her, vampire?" Zero barked out.

They were alone in Kaname's Dorm President Office so that they would have some privacy and their conversation would not be overheard.

Kaname almost snapped, to be accused of doing anything to harm his dearest Yuuki was absurd, but he understood that the vampire hunter was also worried by the new behavior the brunette was showing.

"I'm the one who should be asking that question, Kiryuu Zero-kun, _I_ am not the one that keeps on draining her of her blood. And yet you have the audacity to stand there and accuse me of hurting her."

The hunter couldn't help the look of shame on his face. He knew that he could very well be to blame for the odd attitude Yuuki was having lately.

Ever since he first indulged himself to Yuuki's sweet blood he hadn't been able to control himself, he was addicted to the taste of her.

_**Flashback**_

"_Yuuki__…" Zero moaned softly as he plunged his fangs into the unsuspecting girl. _

_She was just walking away from him when he grabbed her and bit down. He __wasn't himself at the moment and he couldn't stop himself. _

_He bit down as hard as his jaws could muster and he sucked at her neck without restraint. _

_It was only when she pushed him of her that he came back from the edge, but the damage was already done. _

_He could see the fear, the hurt and betrayal in her eyes. _

_He never thought he could feel like this, like he had lost his reason to live. He betrayed the trust of the only person that had shown him love and care and had repaid her kindness with this selfish act of blind thirst for blood. _

"_I-I__'__m so-so sorry…Yuuki, please fo-forgive me.__" his silver hair hid his eyes, which he was sure were still the color of blood. _

_He couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes. _

"_Why didn't you tell me you were a vampire?" was the only thing she said, after a few awkward moments of silence. _

"_I__ am not one of those filthy bloodsuckers__", but all he got was a disbelieving stare as his reply. She didn't believe him. _

"_I…I…Yuuki, I'm not…__" was all he managed to say before taking off at a run. _

_He later found out that her adoptive father __–__Cross Kaien- had told her everything. Kiryuu-kun was once bitten by a Pureblood vampire. The Pureblooded vampires were on the top of the vampire hierarchy and considered royalty by other vampires. Their powers far exceeded that of the noble-class vampires __–__the so called "B" class- and were strong enough to force respect and obedience out of every undead soul in the vicinity. _

_But the most fearsome aspect of a pureblood was that their bite could transform a human into a D-class vampire. A human turned into a vampire was weaker than any classes above him and only had the privilege of slightly enhanced strength and speed, compared to normal humans. _

_But they were the most cursed ones. They were unable to withstand direct sunlight, something which only caused discomfort to the higher classes and they would all someday succumb to the darkness of their thirst. And once that happened they would fall into the abyss known as level-E. _

_A level-E was the lowest form of vampire. Mindless creatures that could only hunt and devour, no longer capable of feeling guilt, remorse or love, all they did was find prey and drain them dry. _

_Kiryuu Zero was on the brink of becoming a level-E, all because he was bitten by a Pureblooded vampire that had killed his entire family. _

_And now Yuuki knows the truth, Zero would become a Level-E vampire and he had just lost his last bit of human dignity._

_**End Flashback**_

Both men were staring at each other, one with shame in his eyes mixed with concern, the other concern with a slight touch of disgust.

But they didn't need words for them to come to the silent agreement that they would have to join forces to find out what was going on with their dearest Yuuki.

"We need to confront her, and make her tell one of us what is going on with her." 

"I would love to say that I am certain she will tell me, but ever since she began…feeding you, she tends to keep things from me. I would give you the world to find out what is wrong with her and to tell me, but this will remain a request. For I will tell you what her problem is if she chooses to tell me." with that said, the Pureblooded Kaname stuck out his hand to seal the agreement.

Zero was slightly taken back by both the fact the mighty Kaname, sole survivor of the Kuran clan (who were once said to be the strongest amongst the purebloods) was requesting his aid and was even prepared to share information with him, sole survivor of one of the strongest and oldest vampire hunters, the Kiryuu's. By all means, they were arch nemeses, not only decided by heritage and their very nature, but also love rivals over the same woman.

Nonetheless, the silver-haired man shook his rival's hand. They needed to work together if they were to find out what is wrong.

Zero nodded and walked out of the room, leaving a contemplating Kaname in his office.

He walked down the extravagant stairs with his eyes focused on the red Persian carpet on which he stepped, taking notice of the beautiful details made by the, no doubt, very skilled crafters.

As his eyes traced a few of the curls, he tried to come up with a way of making Yuuki confess what was wrong or at least get her run to Kaname, his (temporary) ally and tell him instead.

But no matter how hard he thought, he could not think of a plan, which was not odd, he had never been a great strategic thinker, he was more the kill now, ask questions later kind of guy. The hell with the consequences.

'_That's it!'_ maybe if he aggravated her, she would spit it out.

But as he finished his thought he realized that he barely did anything else but aggravate her whenever they met. He was surprised she still…provided blood the few times he needed it.

He was abruptly pulled from his thoughts when he heard a voice call out to him "Zero~" Ichijou Takuma whined in his ear.

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><p>"<span>Don<span>'t sneak up on me, vampire", the hunter spat at the blond haired boy standing beside him, putting as much venom into the last word as he could .

"Sneaking? I have been standing here longer than you have, you were just standing next to me all of a sudden and I have been calling to you for the last 2 minutes." Ichijou protested.

Zero could only look at him in surprise. Was he so deep in thought that he didn't even notice the second loudest vampire in the entire building, well, except for Aidou Hanabusa maybe?

"Well now that I have your attention…I think, I would like to invite both you and Yuuki to my birthday party next Saturday. We will have cake and some drinks…all you have to bring with you is Yuuki. So, you'll come won't you? Right? Right? Ok, great, see you next week, bye bye."

Before Zero could even let out a growl of frustration Ichijou was gone.

'_At least I can tell Yuuki there will be a party where she might see her beloved vampire__'_ he mused to himself_. _

'_Hmm, let__'__s use that to open up a small chit chat and I might surprise her enough to tell me what__'__s wrong with her__' _for a non-thinker, he ended up with a nice small plan if he did say so himself.

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><p><strong>Please let me now what your thoughts are. Only that way I can actually try to improve my writing.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3 Preparation

**Authors Note:**** New and improved chapter ****3**

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><p><strong>Preparation<strong>

After meeting Zero, Takuma was running through the corridor of the dorm stopping at every room and shouting at the people "Yay, next week is my birthday, so please come and play", he was quite pleased with himself for making a rhyme without intending to.

He stopped by the shared room of Kain Akatsuki and Aidou Hanabusa, who were, as always, having a heated discussion; only this time it was about Aidou's favorite snack: Pocky.

"Admit it Akatsuki! You stole my pocky, didn't you? No one else but you knew where I hid it and know the box is gone", "Hanabusa yelled.

"I don't even like the damn things. Why would I steal them?" Kain sighed.

"Maybe so you can give it to your not-so-secret crush, Ruka." Aidou smirked at the expression on Kain's face.

"Just because you're my cousin doesn't mean I won't hurt you, Hanabusa."

The look on Kain's face went from surprise – probably because his secret concerning Ruka Souen wasn't as much of a secret as he had thought- to shock upon seeing his Dorm Vice-President standing in the doorway then to slight anger because now two people knew his secret.

Aidou yelped at the sight of the small flames starting to surround him. Kain had the power to summon and manipulated fire at his whim. Both were of Noble class and Aidou wasn't without his own power, but he could only manipulate ice and fire beats ice. Especially when his cousin got that look in his eye.

He started to apologize profusely but within a blink of an eye Aidou screamed and started rolling on the floor trying to put out the flames in his spiky blond hair.

The fire-red headed boy put out the flames and bowed slightly to his superior.

"Is there anything we can do for you Lord Ichijou?"

After a light chuckle Ichijou put on his brightest smile and asked with so much cheer in his voice, he could get the sound patented "I'll need you to come to my party next Saturday and probably escort Cross Yuuki and Kiryuu Zero."

But again, not even a reply could be made before Ichijou disappeared along the corridor.

He was down to the last two doors and he opened the door to his second last stop and saw one Souen Ruka reading a book silently on one bed and Shiki Senri eating chocolate covered sticks with Touya Rima on a second bed.

Takuma had to suppress the urge to smile when looking at Ruka, now that he knew Kain's "little" secret.

"Shiki, Rima, Ruka, you'll be at my party next week right? Everybody is coming. Thank you, bye." And the disappearing act was pulled once more.

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><p>Shiki looked to his right where his best friend was seated while Rima looked over to her left to see the former with an anticipating open mouth. She pulled out a Pocky stick and stuck it in his mouth.<p>

"Informal?" She asked the boy next to her and all she got was a slight nod as a reply.

"You know it is kinda scary to see you two communicate with so little words. At least make a sentence." Ruka complained.

And although she was expecting some kind of verbal reply, the only reply she received was the usual blank stares.

"Ugh, it's so annoying when you do that!" she turned her head and returned her attention to the book she was reading.

The two stoic vampires looked at each other and gave a small smirk. Nobody would notice of course, but their closeness made them able to communicate with the littlest of signs, almost as if they were telepathic. Not that they were telepathic…probably.

Shiki was the one that broke the silence in the room though "Oh, we need to thank Aidou for always getting us pocky" he announced putting said item between his teeth. Rima just gave a slight nod while munching on the treat.

"He even makes it fun every time. Instead of giving them he makes a hide-and-seek game to keep us busy." the girl added.

"I guess he is not only just a idiot" the boy finished.

Ruka looked over her shoulder and smiled at the thought of an Aidou tearing his room apart to find his chocolate sticks.

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><p>Meanwhile a happy Takuma was gamboling through the hallway heading towards his final stop. He stopped in front of two large symmetrical white doors. He stepped up to knock, but was met by the calm voice of the rooms occupant.<p>

"What can I do for you, Ichijou?"

The blond stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Ichijou's lime-green hue's met with Kuran's chocolate-brown. A full teethed smile crept on the formers face and the latter visibly flinched.

"_He is up to something__'_Kaname silently groaned.

Ichijou would always give that smile when he was scheming or about to implement some kind of nefarious plan. True, they were always harmless, but you can never be too careful, especially when you have your own plans to worry about.

"Ne, ne Kaname" Ichijou's eye nearly sparkled after finishing his small sentence_. __'_

_Dear lord, he accomplished one of his silly goals again__'_Kaname smiled mentally.

Takuma was delighted by the fact that he once more made a rhyme without intending it. The smile on his face even grew wider, even though that should not be possible, anatomically speaking, even for a vampire.

"You will come to my birthday party next week right?" the blond asked.

"I have a lot of paper work to do. I do not know if I can find the time to attend" Kaname was never one to attend social gatherings, whatever the reason was, even if it was the celebration of his best friend.

"That is too bad. Poor Yuuki-chan will be so~ disappointed not seeing you there."

Kaname's eye twitched. _'__And there it is. I knew he was planning something. But to see Yuuki…It will be worth it to indulge his little scheme__'_after some thinking, he was actually pretty thankful for his scheming friend. Now he could keep up appearances AND see Yuuki at the same time.

"We can't let a human girl stray into a den of our kind without proper supervision. I guess I will need to come if only to make sure that everybody behaves."

Even though he was thankful, a Pureblood vampire should never reveal his emotions, even to somebody that was so obviously aware of them.

Where there had been a highly satisfied smile before, a mischievous grin appeared.

"Seiren-chan, you will come to right?" he asked seemingly no one in particular.

Out of a shadow in the corner of the room stepped a girl with violet hair and a pair of stunning lilac eyes. Even though she never shows any sort of expression, her face was would give top models a run for their money.

It would always warm the Ichijou heir's heart to see her.

"If Lord Kaname deems it necessary, I will be present" she stated matter-of-factly. She looked up and met the intense stare of the blond. And even though nobody had ever witnessed it, Ichijou could swear he saw her barest of traces of a blush. _Maybe she isn't looked at so intently often_. Takuma's heart skipped a beat at the sight.

"Great" he proclaimed, "now…I have so many preparations to make. I better start right now."

"Don't forget we have classes tonight. Make sure to attend" said the Dorm President. But Ichijou was already out of the room.

"Now then, what kind of cake should I order?" Takuma said to himself while he was making his way to his room. "Ah well, I'll just check out the internet later."

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><p><strong>And. were the improvements actual improvements? Please let me know.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4  Not Alone

**Authors Note:**** Starting from this chapter, I actually made some changes in the sentences. Like I said, nothing major, but tried to root out inconsistencies that would pop up in future chapters.**

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><p><strong>Not Alone<strong>

Meanwhile, Yuuki was trying to get some sleep at the one place she always felt at peace as a young girl; her old bedroom at her foster-fathers house.

She had already told him that she wanted some time away so she could get some shut eye and he agreed without any resistance. He was one of many that were concerned about her health, so the fact that she came 'home' was a delighted him to no end. He would let her get some rest without pushing her to talk to him.

She made her way to her old room and smiled when she saw the handmade sign on her door. Seeing the pale pink letters that adorned the sign brought her comfort, knowing that she still had a place all of her own. She let out a soft giggle as she traced her fingers over the letters.

She slowly pushed open the door to behold the familiar scene. Her bed, still under the window on the far side of the room. Even the pink covers and baby-blue pillow were still on top. The vanity directly next to the door crowded with all the make-up and perfumes she received from her dear Lord Kaname. Her dresser standing next to it, with pictures of her, Cross Kaien and Kaname, even Zero has one photo (which he doesn't know exists, he really dislikes being caught on camera).

Everything was exactly the way she had left it. She let her hand roam over the surface of the furniture, letting her finger gather the dust that has piled on top over the years.

She smiled gently when she looked at the picture of her and her crush, taken when he came over to celebrate Christmas Eve 6 years ago, before Zero even came into her and her foster-fathers life.

She wiped the dust off her fingers and made her way to the bed, letting herself fall forward and cuddle into to the soft, fluffy exterior of her mattress. She looked at her bed-side table and picked up the first toy she ever got from her vampire prince.

A stuffed bunny. It was her most treasured possession and had always helped her calm down. Whether she was being scolded by Cross Kaien for sneaking outside to wait for Kuran Kaname or yelled at by Zero for coming into his room without asking, even when she was sad when Kaname had to leave again, the bunny had helped her get through it.

She balled herself up to keep herself warm and crushed the bunny closer to her chest as she soon felt herself drifting off into a long awaited slumber.

** _She woke up in her own room. _

_Yuuki slowly stood up from her bed, every limb of her body feeling__so heavy she had to drag herself up into a sitting position. She removed the covers __'__When did I crawl underneath them__'__she thought to herself. She pushed herself up and walked over to her vanity to brush her hair before going back to school. _

_But as she sat herself down in front of the mirror, she was greeted by the same face she meets every time she slept. __'__So I am still dreaming__'__she mused to herself as she looked upon her twisted self reflection. _

"_Have you come to realize who I am yet__?" the reflection spoke softly. _

_Yuuki nearly fell backwards, this was the first time the reflection said anything. _

"_What do you mean? You're me…right?__" _

_The reflection let out a throaty laugh and looked deep into her eyes. There was a certain anger in her eyes that unsettled the already easily frightened Yuuki. _

"_No, we are not the same. But it matters not.__" Yuuki inched closer to the mirror and she saw the reflection changing slightly, her appearance altering. Her eye color was no longer the Chocolate-brown it was before, but was replaced by the slightly lighter Copper-brown she normally possessed. Not only that, her skin was getting a little bit more color compared to the last time she had had this dream. _

"_You seem different then last time__" Yuuki spoke out after a few moments of awkward silence. _

"_That is because I am finally getting out and getting to the surface. This prison will not hold much longer__" the reflection replied. _

"_What do you mean this prison? Finally getting out? Out of where?__" but she couldn't ask any more questions, her throat was burning again. She __would've__ collapsed if she wasn't sitting, moaning in pain, or was it need? She laid her head slightly on the dresser so she could calm down her senses and regain some control. _

_After a moment or two she finally mustered enough strength to face the reflection again, but it was gone. Instead, she looked at her real mirror image and what she saw shocked her very being, crimson eyes that belonged to a vampire were staring back at her. _

_Not believing what she was seeing at first __–__she had just seen a reflection of herself before that wasn't her either- she started to touch her face a bit and to her own horror, she came to the conclusion that it was indeed her own reflection. _

_She was terrified and like most people that are, she started to scream. Screaming at the sudden changes she supposedly went through, screaming at her overwhelming need to drink, but, most of all, screaming to wake herself up and leave this damn nightmare._**

Yuuki woke up with a jumpstart, instantly sitting up and finding herself just the way she remembered: on top of her covers and clutching her bunny. She wiped the sweat off her brow and slowly stood up.

Her throat was aching to be drowned in something cold and liquid. She made her way to her door so she could once again head out to the fountain where she could always get rid of this new need.

But this time seemed worse than normal and she stumbled towards her door, she lost balance and fell towards the vanity. She caught herself before she could hit it and was now staring in the mirror once again.

But what she saw only brought forth fear again as she once again faced blood red eyes. But she was awake this time…wasn't she? She couldn't be dreaming anymore.

She shook her head to shake off the last remnants of sleep from her mind and dared to look into the mirror again. This time, much to her relief, the crimson eyes weren't there

'_I must be going insane to see such strange things__'_ she thought to herself.

Her throat was starting to act up again so she quickly made her way out of her room. She strode down the stairs as quietly as possible, careful not to wake up her 'father' and slipped out of the house. Once outside she started running, much faster then she thought she could, but it didn't matter as long as she could get to her destination as fast as possible.

Not a moment too soon did she arrive at her spot before she could drown herself again in the cold water and drink as much of the cooling liquid as she physically could.

When her lungs started burning, desperate for air, she pulled her head out of the cold water and sighed as the thirst in her throat began to diminish. Not long after, she sat down on the frigid granite brim of the fountain and found herself looking at the stars.

"The night sky is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

She heard the familiar voice call out to her. Her heart skipped a beat and she felt a warmth course through her as two strong arms encircled her waist and pulled her against a well toned chest.

"Lord Kaname, when did you arrive?"

Her heart started racing within the confines of her chest when she felt the body of her dearest Kaname embrace her own. She hadn't even noticed him nearing, let alone sitting behind her. She jumped up from where she sat and turned to face him.

The sudden movement however, caused a slight dizziness and because she was still in the middle of turning, she fell forward. Luckily for her, she was caught by the strong arms of the man she loved.

She waited a moment to let the dizziness fade before she straightened and took a step back. She looked up again into the beautiful chocolate-brown eyes of the vampire and she felt heat rush up to her face. She turned her head away to avoid him from seeing her blushing…again.

"Yuuki, are you alright?" His soft velvety voice rang out in the silence "You seem awfully pale. Is something bothering you?"

She knew that lately the color was draining out of her face and darks rings were surrounding her eyes, but why couldn't anyone leave her alone? She was a grown woman for god sake, why wouldn't people treat her as one?

"No-None of your business!" she half screamed.

She looked up at the mahogany haired man and she saw the hurt in his eyes. _'__Did I do that? Did I cause him pain?__'_she thought to herself.

"I am not a child anymore, it's not like I need you to baby sit me anymore. I am a woman; please treat me like one instead of always babying me".

She turned to walk away, but once again felt his arms around her waist and his chest against her head.

"I know, my dear Yuuki. I only look at you as a woman. But that doesn't mean I don't want to protect you or be there for you. So why won't you tell me what is wrong?"

"No you don't. Every time you treat me like a child and push me away from the things YOU think are not good for me. But I can make choices for myself now."

She wrestled free from his hold and stood defiantly in front of him.

"When did it happen I wonder? When did you stop talking to me? You used to tell me everything."

Kaname started walking towards her, but to her surprise he walked passed her and took in a strand of her hair and brought it up to his face.

After a strong whiff he said: "Know this, my dear Yuuki, whenever you need me I will be here for you."

Guilt gripped her heart and she turned around to apologize, but by the time she turned around, he was already gone. She mentally smacked herself for hurting the one person she cared about the most and decided to return to her dorm room to try and get some more sleep. She would have class in a few hours and she desperately needed some rest.


	5. Chapter 5  Close Watch

**Close watch**

Kaname slumped down in his seat behind his desk and placed his shoulders on the wooden surface. Intertwining his fingers together, he laid his chin on the self-made platform and thought over the night's events.

'_Last time I could have sworn she had crimson eyes, this time she had the Kuran eye color, Chocolate-brown instead of the Copper-brown she'd had for the last ten years. Her skin is also paler then before, but even more so then the average vampire. And when did her hair become so long. She had it just above shoulder length, but now it was well below that. What the hell is going on? Is the seal fading?__'_

Starting to get worried he decided it was time for a talk with Headmaster Cross, he might now a thing or two about seals.

"Seiren.." and without a moment wasted the violet-haired Seiren stood before him.

"Yes, Lord Kaname".

"Seiren, summon Kain, Ichijou and Aidou to my office please. And also see if Headmaster Cross is available, tell him it is of the utmost importance that I speak to him."

With a deep bow the woman was gone again. It was a few minutes later when there were three knocks on the door. With a word of approval three men came walking in and closed the door behind them.

Front left to right in a row stood the red headed flame wielder Kain Akatsuki, the blond ice manipulator Aidou Hanabusa and lastly, the blond master swordsmen Ichijou Takuma.

They bowed before their leader and asked what service they could perform for him. The Pureblood evaluated them and their posture before giving them his…request.

"I would like to ask a favor of you, since you are the only ones I can trust with this."

Aidou was almost ecstatic that his beloved president trusted him enough to do something, while Ichijou just sighed and smiled at him. Akatsuki stood silently besides the two smiling men and waited with a blank expression for his orders.

"I want you to keep an eye on Cross Yuuki. Don't let her out of your sight at all cost, no matter what she says, not for one minute."

Kain and Ichijou bowed to show their acceptance while the blond in the middle stood eyeing Kaname with disbelief on his face.

"But why do we need a tiny little human. She is not of importance compared to-", but before he could finish his sentence Kaname's eyes flared up in deep crimson and the whole building started to shake.

"Not of importance? Since when did you decide what is or is not of importance?"

The anger on his face could make hordes of nobles shit their pants and now that it was directed at one person, the target of his wrath gasped for air, but found his lungs uncooperative. 

"Please…forgive me…Lord Kaname...I…spoke…without thinking."

Not sooner than when he finished his sentence, did the pressure let up. Kaname walked over to the blond and glared down at him

"Yuuki is the most precious person in the world to me. Do. Not. Forget. That."

He calmed down again (at least visibly) and walked back to his chair and looked out of the large window that viewed the forest surrounding the dorm.

"Please make sure she is safe." were his last words.

The trio was surprised to say the least when they heard the most powerful person they knew utter the word 'Please' but they bowed once more, signaling that they would do as he asked and left the room.

The trio was walking down the stairs when the dark-blond Ruka Souen strolled up to them and asked: "What did Lord Kaname ask? Is there anything I can do?" as always, over eager when it came to the Pureblood prince.

"We are to keep watch on Cross Yuuki. He believes something might be wrong with her."

Kain explained without any unnecessary words. It was one of the things that defined him. He was blunt, but he was always there when you needed him. He would be serious and calm when the rest of the world was either joking or panicking. And he would always remain objective, to the point that he would never show his true emotions.

Ruka scowled up to him.

"That girl again? What does he see in her?" jealousy obvious in her voice.

The amber-eyed man looked at her again, and for those that knew him well enough –like his childhood friend and cousin Aidou- one could see a piece of him dying. He was in love with the heir to the Souen family, but she only had eyes for the head of the Kuran clan, Kaname.

"I said so as well and it almost caused my death" Aidou said, shivering at the mental image of an angry Kaname he had witnessed moments earlier.

"Almost? Too bad", Ruka said mischievously.

"Ruka! why you little…!".

But the one to stop the two from bickering was Akatsuki. As he always did, even when they were growing up together.

"Hanabusa, that's enough. We have our orders and I don't like to anger the Dorm President. Especially when it concerns Cross Yuuki."

The young vampire simply nodded, not taking his glare of the female vampire as he continued down the stairs. Ichijou being who he is, gave Ruka a bright smile and followed after the cousins.

They opened the front door and were surprised to see the Headmaster of Cross Academy and 'retired' vampire hunter Cross Kaien. They gave him a slight bow to show their respect and he answered in kind before walking in and making his way up the stairs to meet Kaname.

"Why is he here?" Aidou asked no one in particular.

"Something must be up with Yuuki-chan, if Kaname even involves her father", replied the no longer smiling Ichijou.

The three looked at each other questioning, but of course nobody had an answer for the unspoken question. _'__What the hell is going on__'_.

"I think we should just do as we're told and make sure we do it right. Hanabusa, you go check with that roommate of hers, Wakaba Sayori I think her name was and find out if she might know something. Ichijou and I will keep an eye on her. We can later discuss possible shifts so we have her within sight at all times."

Kain was always the most level-headed, so what he said always made sense, the remaining blondes agreed without questioning and went their way.

At that time, the ex-hunter made his way to the Pureblood's office, knocked twice and entered without asking for permission. He was the Headmaster after all.

"Kuran-kun. This must be important, if you're asking me to come here instead of you coming to me." He asked.

The Headmaster was always somewhat bubbly so he wasn't one to take offence, not when he could guess what brought this change of pace on.

"Mr. Cross, I would like to ask you how much you know about sealing magic." Kaname said without beating around the bush.

"Well, I'm no expert. I know most of them in theory, can perform one of them. Hmmm, any particular one you are interested in?"

"The one I am interested in, is the one placed on Yuuki. I fear that it is weakening. In the last week I have seen her hair grow with tremendous speed and her eye colour change into another. Not only that, but I could swear her features are changing. Her skin is getting smoother, and it even seems she is gaining…more curves."

He looked up to the adoptive father of the woman in question and tried to gauge a reaction. He was after all talking about his daughter. To his surprise, Kaien wasn't angry or appalled by somebody commenting on his daughter's body, he seemed rather deep in thought.

"I see, that is most disturbing, but what I know of that specific seal is limited, it's almost never used. I know that someone has to sacrifice their own life to perform it. And that it takes the blood of a very close relative to break it. But I know nothing of its endurance, so I can't really tell you much about it. But if it really is weakening, then I would let it run its course and wouldn't intervene. We do not know what might happen if we do anything after all."

Kaname looked surprised for a moment, but surprise was replaced by understanding.

"I see. I don't know for certain what is going on, but I have already sent-",

"Kain, Aidou and Ichijou to watch her. Yes, I know, I saw them leaving before I came up here."

"I see you are still as sharp as ever. But yes, and I will send Seiren as well. She is better at concealing herself whichmight be useful."

The Headmaster looked relieved upon hearing the names of the people/vampires that were going to look out after his little girl.

"Well then, if that is all you wanted to discuss, I will take my leave. I will try and dig up something more about this seal to see if there are any other records about it."

Kaien smiled forcefully at the Pureblood and turned around to leave the room. But just before he stepped out.

"Will you be able to deal with what might happen?" Kaname asked cautiously.

"Only time will tell, Kaname-kun. Only time will tell."


	6. Chapter 6  Awake At Last 1

**Awake At Last I**

»»»»»»»One Week later«««««««

She came up for air, after once again almost drowning herself in the near freezing water of the fountain.

The thirst was getting too frequent and more often than she liked she found herself at her thinking spot, surrounded by trees, flowers and not to mention the fools who thought they were being so subtle while following her, as if she didn't know.

"I am going back to bed Kain-senpai, Aidou-senpai."

She heard a male chuckle softly while she was making her way back to her room. She always made sure to be back before her best friend started to worry.

She was lost in thought on her way back, contemplating on what was happening to her and what had happened in the last few weeks.

The nightmares were becoming fiercer and were no longer just filled with her self-reflection (which was turning more and more into the real her each time she saw it), she saw other things as well.

She saw an older woman bending over her and kissing her gently, but could never see her face. She saw an older man hugging her and telling her everything would be alright, but again no face. And she saw a boy. A boy just slightly older than she was, whispering sweet, reassuring words into her ear with a voice which seemed so familiar. But his face was missing as well and she couldn't place the voice, even though she felt that she should have been able to. Who were these people? What is going to happen?

She asked herself these questions every time, but could never come up with the answers. The only thing that accompanied these 'memories' was fear…enough to crush the breath out of her. Enough to make her lungs uncooperative, rendering her unable to suck in the much needed life source.

And then there was the smell, the smell of blood being spilled. What happened beyond her sight? Why could she feel a presence disappear? And why did she feel so sad when she did? She would never get the answers she sought, because the burning sensation would always wake her before she could find those answers which always felt so close, yet so far. Before she knew it she was already in her dorm room, half dressed in her uniform when her best friend woke up.

"Yuuki, did you have a nightmare again? You know you can talk to me if you need to right?"

Yori could always make her feel appreciated. Mostly because she didn't treat her like a child, but as an equal.

"Don't worry, I am fine. But thank you." As always she brushed off the offers of her friend.

"Today is going to be a busy day and I just got up early to make sure everything is ready" she smiled down at the orange haired girl who was getting out of her bed.

Today she only had a few classes and not forgetting Ichijou-senpai's birthday party. _'__What present should I get for a vampire whose real age I don__'__t know__'_she silently mused. She knew he liked manga so decided to just go with that.

* * *

><p>Zero made his way to the bathroom of his foster-father's house (the one in his dorm had broken, talk about timing).<p>

'_Freaking bloodsuckers and their damn parties__'_ he mentally cursed. Finally clear of classes he still had to go to a damned party of a leech. _'__No choice but to go I guess, I should use every possibility I get for a chance to rid the world of one of those monsters. Besides, Yuuki will definitely go, if only to see her precious pureblood__'_even in his thoughts he couldn't help but spit out the title.

How he loathed them. If Yuuki wasn't here, he would no doubt take a shot at him and every other bloodsucker he could see.

He was almost out of the room when he felt the thirst coming on again. He refused to rely on Yuuki every time. He quickly grabbed his pill-casing, popped one pill in a glass filled with water and threw it back.

Expecting the need for a second glass, he refilled it again and dropped two more blood-tablets into the water. He placed it on the sink and slumped down to the floor trying to catch his breath. That disgusting _stuff _always made him retch and shake uncontrollably. He relaxed for a few minutes before finally standing up.

"Hmm, not as bad as last time" he said to himself. Although he was slightly concerned that his body was starting to…accept the damn _medication._

He put the pill-casing back into his pocket and straightened his back. He checked himself over in the mirror, making sure that he wouldn't make Yuuki worry about him (again!). She was volatile enough as it was. After a few glances he put on his jacket, pulled up his prefect insignia and made his way to the damn vampire party. Completely forgetting his remaining 'drink' that was still on the sink.

* * *

><p>The day had proceeded smoothly, the teachers were happy to see their prefects awake so much lately (nobody caring about the reasons, even when the lack of sleep was so clearly visible in her face), Zero showed up in time to clear the Day-class students from the gates of the Night-class dorm and he didn't bother her once.<p>

Yes, to Yuuki, the day was progressing perfectly. The only drawback was the damn reoccurring thirst that had struck three times today, thank god not as strong as it was at night though. But other than that life was perfect.

She made her way to her father's house to freshen up a bit for the party. She had a little bit more privacy there and Yori didn't have to know she was going to a party hosted by supernatural beings that suck blood to stay alive.

She was taking a quick shower, when the thirst hit. Probably the strongest attack she had experienced so far, she struggled to remain on her feet. Walking out of the shower cabin, she bended over the sink just outside, she took a good look at her reflection in the mirror.

Her still wet tresses were sticking to her bare body and she could see the water droplets trickling down her nose. It was then she noticed the crimson eyes flaring in the mirror. But, she ignored her rising alarm; her first concern was to extinguish the fire in her throat.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a glass standing next to the sink. It was full, but her blurry eyesight could barely register the glass, let alone it's content. She quickly chugged it down and immediately her thirst was gone.

'_Wow, what was that? I need more of that if it is so effective against this thirst__'_ she thought to herself.

But the blissful feeling was not meant to last and she suddenly felt the room spinning, darkness overpowering her senses. It took less than a heartbeat for the abyss to close in around her and she found herself unable to see, hear or smell anything at all. One small thing could be heard in the distance, close by and in her head.

"Finally…freedom."

And all went silent again.

* * *

><p>Zero was looking around the area, not too far away from his main concern… or rather target, depending on who you would ask. He watched how every single bloodsucker was quietly conversing with one another, how they playfully fed each other the substitute blood or in the case of lovers their own blood.<p>

Even though he already knew about it in theory, he was amazed when he saw it actually happen. People were feeding of each other because of a simple and useless emotion. Love. He knew it might be hypocritical, him being in love with Yuuki and all, but still. Not because of need, like when he was forced to drink from Yuuki…that is, when she still allowed him to sink his fangs into her neck.

She hadn't let him to do that in quite a few days. Not since they had a fight about his insistent prodding, trying to find out what was wrong. He could still vividly remember the evening he told her about the party and tried to force her to talk to him about her worries afterwards.

The plan to catch her off guard not working. If anything, it back fired big time. She started to yell at him like no tomorrow and she told him she didn't want to talk to him for the time being.

That was almost a week ago and so far she was sticking to her word. He mentally slapped himself, forcing himself to pay attention to his surroundings and pay attention to make sure none of these filthy leeches would roam around and make his or her way to the Day-class dorm.

But of course his luck was that everybody was behaving as they should. And he didn't like it…at all. It would prove that pacifism was an option and it meant he wouldn't get to kill any of the monsters in disguise. And staying his hand would lead to not being able to get revenge on the Pureblood's that killed his parents, took his brother and cursed him with the unnatural need for blood.

Again he found his focus wavering, untill a new presence entered the vicinity. It felt like a mix of creatures…and he would know, since he took pride in the fact he knew each type of presence. Be it Pureblood, noble, regular vampire, level E or even human.

But this new presence, if one could even call it such, was none of them, rather it was all of them. It felt powerful enough to be a Pureblood, but he could barely sense it so it could be a human. It was guided by something so it could be a noble born, but it felt like it was driven by bloodlust so it could be a Level-E.

He looked around and saw that he was not the only one that had sensed this new entity in their midst, but when he looked at Kaname, it was clear that he was the most shocked out of everyone present.

The Pureblooded bastard walked out into the centre of the terrain, where he just stood, smelling the air. But one could almost see horror on his near perfect features. As if he was seeing a ghost.

He looked around again to find the presence, but he could only see Yuuki in the distance, walking towards the group. He wanted to yell at her, for walking half asleep when there was such a strange presence in the area. But before even the first syllable left his lips, he saw her mouth move. It wasn't audible, but he could see what she was saying.

"Big Brother…."

* * *

><p><strong>So far this chapter has the most changes. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did.<strong>


	7. Chapter 7  Awake At Last 2

**Awake at last II**

Everybody noticed the presence that was among them. It was unknown. It was something they had never experienced before. It felt powerful, yet weak. It felt like it couldn't be ignored, yet at the same time it felt so faint. And nobody knew how to accurately describe it. All the people who had gathered to celebrate a joyous occasion looked around to determine what caused this strange phenomenon, yet nobody could determine the source of this strange atmosphere that suddenly hung in the air.

Until they saw a girl, whose face was obscured by long brown hair. No, that wasn't enough to describe the scene that played before them. Not too far from them, a girl dragged her feet towards the center of the area. The space that was now occupied by their Pureblood leader who looked horrified.

Her face was hidden, to everyone except those in front of her, behind knee length coffee-brown hair, her posture slightly slumped, but her curves were well proportioned for her body size, her skin was slick as if made of the finest ivory silk. She looked exactly like the woman every parent wanted for their son, considering physical proportions. But her posture seemed to indicate that she was a half dead.

It wasn't long before she made it to the centre of the party, everyone's attention was fixed on her. With the banquet of the night a few paces to the left, Kuran Kaname a few feet in front of her and now no longer celebrating noble vampires all around her, she stood in the centre of those who were summoned/invited to the birthday party of the grandson of the most influential vampire of this time, Ichijou Takuma.

Said youth recognized her, of course he recognized the school prefect, he had seen her plenty of times. And although he couldn't deny the rather strange presence, nobody in their right mind would suspect the normally feeble-minded human that was Cross Yuuki to be the owner of it, so he approached her like he would have any other day and greeted her:

"Yuuki-chan, so glad you made it. Would you like something to drink or to eat? I have some wonderful cake that was made by the best artisan on this side of the equator."

Pretending like nothing was amiss, he walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. Really, even the Pureblood prince would appreciate the fact that somebody would try and comfort Yuuki, the eye candy of the Pureblood.

But what she did as soon as his skin touched even the fabric of her dress was shocking, not only to the nobles that looked up to their Vice-President, but also to Zero Kiryuu and Kaname Kuran… she brushed his hand away, almost swatting it.

Cross Yuuki somewhat stumbled across to Hanabusa Aidou who couldn't help but gawk at the sight he just perceived, looking stupefied at the mess of a creature that stood before him.

He was about to speak up against the impertinence he just witnessed when he heard a small voice call out to him.

"Do you want to hear a secret, Hanabusa-senpai?"

It was the first time the prefect had called him anything else then his nickname or surname so he was quite intrigued to say the least. He nodded and waited for her talk again, but she only motioned for him to come closer. Being the curious idiot that he is, he felt no harm to come closer to the human that couldn't hurt him more than a mosquito could and soon he found himself putting his ear next to the young girl's mouth.

Not even aware of the fact that he had his delicate neck exposed to the girl who was allegedly harmless. What he would never have expected was to feel two fangs plummeting in his neck, robbing him of his life essence.

He could feel his blood slipping out of his system as well as he could hear her gulping it down. He would have never thought it would happen to him, but there he stood, paralyzed by a weak girl that sucked him dry of his source of life.

He fell to his knees, his legs no longer able to support his body, looking with wide terrified eyes at the starry sky above him, praying someone would stop her soon.

As if his prayers were answered, the gulping sound stopped and he felt the fangs being extracted from his flesh. He murmured a silent thanks before looking up into crimson orbs that looked down at him.

If he was afraid of an angry Kaname, it paled at what he felt now. The creature that was not even a breath away from him looked as if she was ready to kill her prey. Hungry eyes ready to jump and kill her prey.

"Help me….please" were the only words that came from his lips as he stayed there, hunched on the ground and beheld the most fearsome thing he had ever seen.

Luckily for him, it turned away, facing the Pureblooded prince that was staying silent in shock, looking at the event that displayed before him. The girl stepped towards the vampire lord, but after a few steps she lifted her head up in the air, displaying her not less than stunning face to the crowd before smiling and saying "Delicious~"

The people there were just watching what had happened silently; unconsciously backing away from the entity that just drank from one of the top three most powerful people present that night. Kaname Kuran made his way slowly towards the suspicious creature standing amongst them, ignoring the protests of everyone around him.

"Yuuki…" were the only words that crossed his lips.

"Don't come closer" resounded in the silence covering the many vampires that were now not only attending a birthday, but also observing this horror.

His stoic face never revealing the emotions he felt from those few words. A look of pain, loneliness and shock flickered through his eyes, but nobody could really recognize it. Well, maybe Yuuki could normally, but certainly not at this moment.

The few nobles that weren't completely numbed with fear wanted to retaliate, make sure that their monarch was outside the creatures reach, but none of them could find the strength or the courage to actually do so.

All went silent for just a few moments when they heard her speak up again.

"Traitor…" was the word that flowed from her lips.

Nobody understood it, but the look of disbelief on the Purebloods face spoke volumes, she had struck a chord and a well hidden one at that.

"Yuuki, it wasn't-" the man tried to speak up again, but was cut short.

"Don't…traitor!"

It were only two words, yet it made the façade of a strong and proud pillar of vampire society crumble before unbelieving eyes. He tried to speak up and make a diffusing comment, but before he could even attempt to do such a thing, the girl made her way to another woman.

The woman was too pained to see the look of sorrow plastered on the face of the one she desired, to take notice of the smaller brunette approaching her, however her eyes soon drifted onto her standing in front of her person.

"You seduced him. You took what is mine. You'll pay for that."

The woman was frozen in place as terror took over her body. Dust and wind seemed to whirl around the girl and a great amount of power seemed to emanate from her. It seemed like she was able to move mountains and destroy nations with just a small flick of the fingers, but it was about to be directed to just one person, Ruka Souen, and the woman in question had no idea why.

She tried to come up with the words that could save her life or even postpone her death, when suddenly a tall man with fiery red hair stood between the destroyer and the almost destroyed, preventing her death. The foreign power was stunned by the sudden action, enough to pause.

"You know that I will destroy you if you do not move out of the way?"

It was formulated as a question, but said as a statement. The man that intervened just nodded to show that he fully understood what he was getting himself into.

"I know," was his soft reply after a short pause. "But I need to do this." They were his only words directed to the girl in front of him.

"Ruka, if anything happens, run away as fast as you can. Make sure to stay out of sight" he whispered over his shoulder to the woman behind him.

The targeted woman just stood there, staring at the broad back of the man that was pretty much saving her life. She tried to come up with words to ask him what was happening or why he would do this, but the only audible reply she could make at the moment was a soft "hum" of approval.

The crowd was observing carefully when the Pureblood tried to approach the seemingly enraged creature that captured the attention so abruptly. Kain was still standing ready to protect the girl behind him even at the cost of his life, that much was clear by the look on his face.

But what everybody mostly focused on was the expression on the vampire prince that inched closer to his target with a look on his face that seemed as foreign as an American making sushi. Shock clearly adorned his normally breathtaking face.

The vampires there knew every expression his face could make. It was normally a stoic face, no emotion was shown to others around him, no matter if somebody was brutally dismembered, raped, murdered or tortured right in front of him. Sometimes it could look agitated, even rarer were the times it looked lonely. More often than not, there was the fake smile for something that, those that _really knew _was not nice or funny.

But here he was, with a new addition to his countenance. Nobody had ever seen it before. Yet nobody present could deny its presence. He slowly made his way towards the girl, but stopped when he thought he could feel when the energy started shifting again.

It slowly started gathering around her very being, the wind acting as if she was the epitome of all it embodied, gravity was defied around her as the small pieces of rubble, leaves and even nearby glasses started to float on their own.

The strange sensation of raw and pure power was once again summoned within her and her eyes lit up, her hair rising up when her might was reaching a new peak. The sky turned dark and the black clouds that obfuscated the sky looked as if it was aiding her, slowly circling around to make a small, non-moving tycoon forming in the darkness of the night.

Her power was peaking and she seemed to be directing it against all that stood in her way, but Kain didn't flinch, didn't move a single muscle; he made no attempt to get out of the way of the pure destructive force aimed at him. It was about to be unleashed, when a hand landed on the unbelievably powerful entity's shoulder.

The forces that were accumulating once more dissipated. The girl looked up and concerned eyes met hers. She stared up into the darkish brown hues that belonged to Kuran Kaname and a weight seemed to be lifted from her shoulders.

However, as soon as it looked like the situation was resolved, she placed her hands on his chest and within an instant he was repelled backwards, crashing into a wall over 20 yards away.

He struggled to get out of the crater created by the impact of his body meeting a wooden structure and he saw Seiren out of the corner of his eye. She was propelling herself into the forward nearing the obvious threat to het master. Her hand held out in front of her, straight and deadly like a blade … which stopped a mere inch from her targets throat.

She couldn't move any more than that. Confusion overwhelmed everybody's face. The new threat just looked up at the lilac eyes and the latter just froze into place.

Kaname managed to get back on his own two feet when he heard the first word spoken in an awkwardly long time.

"Traitor…"

Once more nobody knew what that meant, but again Kaname seemed to know what was going on. He slumped his shoulders and lowered his head in defeat, clearly he knew what was going on in this more than disturbing event. The tense silence was breached when the eerily voice spoke up one more time.

"For ten years I have been locked away. Forgotten by those who mattered most. And what happens? You become intimate with another. For a decade I have wanted to stare into your eyes, hear your voice and feel your touch. But you seemed to be having a good time, fulfilling your needs with another."

Yuuki's gaze shifted from the slumping Pureblood to the slightly trembling girl standing a few feet beside her, still blocked from sight by a tall red-haired noble. Ruka dared to look up to see what was going on, when she saw that her protector was even more tensed up then before. A Pureblood was just tossed around like a toy.

The words struck a bell of course, Lord Kaname once drank her blood. It was a long time ago and it was a very painful experience, but it did happen. She lowered her head to look at her feet again. She snapped up her head when she heard Akatsuki speak the first words since some time.

"He fulfilled his needs…with Ruka?"

The tall vampire visibly deflated with each word he spoke and looked like he was about to collapse when the last two words crossed his lips.

"He drank my blood, Akatsuki, we did nothing more than that, I already told you that right?"

Why did she have to defend herself towards Akatsuki? Why did he have to know that nothing more than that happened. No, Kaname and Ruka never kissed or did anything even remotely beyond that, but he didn't need to know that….right? So why was she defending her honor against somebody that was supposed to be her friend? _'__He is just a friend, isn't he? 'Yet somehow it doesn't feel right to call him just that__'_she was thinking to herself.

Ruka's murmuring was cut off when Yuuki spoke off once more.

"Drinking another vampire's blood, is one of the most intimate things between lovers. Do you think me stupid? That I would believe nothing has transpired between you when you perform such an act of intimacy."

It was true of course, normally the act of drinking blood from other vampires was between bonded or to-be-bonded couples. Yuuki's eyes lit up, nearly illuminating her surroundings and she seemed to summon her power again.

"Are you sure you still wish to defend her? I will obliterate you, Kain-senpai."

The young girl was moving into a position and waited for Akatsuki to speak his response

"I will die before I let you hurt her!" he shouted.

Ruka felt warmth shot through her veins and screamed his name when Yuuki dashed forward with her hand reaching for his heart. Time seemed to stop as the fire-wielder closed his eyes, waiting to feel his heart ripped out of his chest, feeling the love of his life clutching onto his blazer and pressing herself into his back.

But after a few seconds passed, he still felt nothing. He could feel Ruka trembling behind him, he could hear everybody gasping. He opened his eyes to see what the hell was going on, why he was still alive. And there she stood a bloodthirsty girl with her claws not even an inch away from his chest.

Fear was not something that he felt regularly, but this time was one of the moments he did. Not because of the imminent death, but because he wouldn't be able to protect his girl –even though she isn't- from the danger that was facing them.

He looked at her fingers when he noticed a hand holding her wrist. Lord Kaname had just saved his life by holding the talon at bay.

"Yuuki.." were the only words he spoke.

The aforementioned started struggling against her captor and tugged as hard as she could to free her arm. She felt a hand at the back of her neck before she was pulled into a pleasant warm structure. The scent of chamomile and sandalwood with a tinge of sweat rushed her senses and it was a scent that had always calmed her.

The scent of Kaname.

It didn't take her long to understand that the structure was Kaname's torso, the man who had betrayed her. Then the hand pressed her lips against his neck.

"Drink, Yuuki" was all he said.

She could hear his blood racing though his veins, she could see the thick carotid artery pulsing in his neck, tempting her to sink her fangs in it. The temptation found little resistance when she bit down as hard as she could.

Both the biter and the one being bitten moaned softly when ecstasy took control. The pleasure of feeling his loved one drinking his blood deluded his mind. Tasting the delicious, thick red substance filling her mouth almost overloaded her senses, very nearly driving her wild. The feeling of bliss that they had been missing for over a decade consumed their very souls.

Through the hazy fog of pleasure Kaname remembered why he forced her to drink his blood. He would use the vampire's ability to sense thoughts and feelings in another's blood to make Yuuki see what really happened that fateful night he drank from Ruka.

Yuuki gulped down mouthfuls of her beloved's blood and she saw him, or rather, saw through him, feeling what he felt, knowing what he thought. She felt his revulsion at drinking someone else's blood, someone that was not her; she knew that he knew she was watching. But what's more, she could practically see that it was his plan to make her stay away from him, to keep her safe. And she felt the sadness eating at him, when he had done it.

Kaname was focusing on the dreadful memory where he had purposely hurt Yuuki, when he felt a warm wetness trickling down his neck onto his chest. It smelled salty, so he knew it wasn't his blood.

It was her tears.

He slowly removed her from his neck, so he could look at her face – even though he wouldn't mind feeling that delightful sensation of her feeding on him still.

She had her eyes closed but a river of tears flowed from under her eyelids. The sight of her crying broke his heart, but he had to remain strong, not only for the sake of appearance –he was surrounded by his followers after all, but for the sake of the sobbing girl in his arms.

"Yuuki, look at me" he said with a small smile.

The sniffling girl opened her eyes and the bloodlust receded within moments. He wiped away her remaining tears with the pad of his thumb, and let his hand caress her cheek. She pressed into it to feel more of the comfort that the warm hand offered. The mere sight of her, finding his touch so pleasant sends bolts of joy through his very being.

"Do you understand now?"

She nodded in reply and the sadness left her face. Instead she placed her own hand up to his face and gave him a genuine smile. Her eyes showing pure elation at being able to be touched by him, feel his smooth silky skin against her own; being able to stand so close to her lover, knowing that he hadn't betrayed her.

A small tear escaped her eyes, but this time it wasn't one of sadness, but one of happiness. She placed her second hand on the other side of his face and slowly cradled his head in between them.

"Big brother..." were the only words spoken when she brought his head down to her height and placed her lips on his. She felt his hand leave her face and before she could break the kiss to ask what was wrong, she a pair of strong arms snake around her waist, pulling her closer to his body.

Zero, who was no longer bound by the raw power of a pureblood, sank down to the ground.

'_Yuuki…is a vampire?__'_His silent thoughts were cut off when the thirst for blood painted everything in red. He had to get out somewhere private and safe, so he could take one of those wretched tablets. Nobody noticed him leaving, everybody still had their eyes fixed on the two kissing vampires in the centre of the gathering.

* * *

><p><strong>Some changes here and there. But as before, nothing plot changing or anything.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8  Reunion

**Reunion**

The kiss started out soft and chaste, but quickly grew more passionate, more needy. Nobody kept track of the time they spent exploring each other's lips –that would just be plain creepy- but the two vampires felt as if they had been embracing for an eternity and a minute at the same time, content in each another's arms.

However Kuran Kaname felt the body of his precious Yuuki go limp in his arms. The pace of her kisses slowed, just before she went still. Kaname checked her vitals, almost in a panic, to make sure his queen was safe. Only when he found a pulse and he saw her chest moving evenly did he visibly relax.

He just stared at the girl in his arms, peaceful, as if sleeping. The stress of the previous hours clearly being too much for her freshly awakened body, let alone her state of mind, and she had passed out.

He just stood there for a moment, probably to let everything that happened sink in, when one person found the courage to disturb the enveloping sense of peace.

"Lord Kaname…what…just happened?" Aidou asked, groggily standing up, gulping down his nervousness.

He spoke before thinking, which was usually the cause of most of his punishments. But this time he was not silenced by a stern look or almost suffocated by an ominous sense of doom surrounding his body. The Pureblood vampire simply looked up at his spectators, straightened his back and positioned his beloved safely and comfortably in his arms. He let one arm support her lower back while shifting one arm to the hollow of her knee, lifting her up in bridal style.

Never before had anyone present seen something that looked so right. So natural. As if all that happened mere minutes before, never happened.

His content smile remained in place as he addressed his onlookers.

"Yuuki, is my little sister. She is the secret child of my parents, Kuran Haruka and Kuran Juri, the pureblooded monarchs who were killed 10 years ago. She is my sister, my most precious girl and my fiancée" he spoke out to his followers.

From all over people could be heard murmuring.

"The daughter of Lord Haruka and Lady Juri", "I never heard of this", "His fiancée? He said sister, right?"

But not for one moment did he seem annoyed or agitated; he just stood there eying his audience. He gazed around until he met the questioning look of the first one that break the silence, the blond ice master.

"As I said before, she was hidden. My parents were killed for a reason and Yuuki was kept concealed from the vampire world to ensure her safety. And it is not unheard of for pureblood siblings to join in marriage to keep their bloodline pure. Yuuki was born to be my wife…and that is the way it will be…if she still wants it" he said, adding the last part as a barely audible whisper, even to the vampire sense of hearing.

"I cannot demand that you remain discreet about discovering a new Pureblood, especially given her heritage, but I will still request that you keep silent about it for now. She is not in any shape to make her debut before our society yet."

Leaving it at that, silently hoping that the spectators would heed his request, he walked towards the host of the party, Ichijou Takuma, who just stood gaping at the scene before him.

"I am sorry to have ruined your party. I hope you will understand."

With these last words said his body transformed into a small colony of bats, which dispersed into the night. For the moment, he just needed to get his princess somewhere safe.

* * *

><p>Zero, having finally made good distance from the party, collapsed down to his knees and began roaming his hands over his body, trying to find the casing which held the solution for his cursed thirst.<p>

Finally finding his black pill casing, he threw back two tablets to make sure the burning in his throat receded before he finally managed to calm down. He rested for a few moments, just to make sure the dire need wouldn't return if tried to stand up straight.

It was then that he noticed that he was near the pond, pool might have been more fitting thanks to its size, not even taking into account how deep the thing was. He crawled towards the deep waters and submerged his head, reveling in the cooling effect the water had on his skin as well as the calm it brought to his mental state.

'_Yuuki is a vampire! She lied to me. She deceived me. Damn vampires playing with my mind__'_ were the thoughts that rampaged through his head. '_But what did she mean, locked up? Does it even matter? Probably another mind game. Messing with my head._' He continued.

A barely noticeable rustle in the bushes a few feet away cast away his thoughts. A tall black-haired figure wearing a rancher hat, stepped out of the shadows

"It seems you have been able to resist. My teachings weren't as useless as I thought after all."

A shotgun could be seen in his right-hand with the barrel resting on his right shoulder.

"And here I loaded my special anti-vampire bullets hoping I would get a prey tonight" the advancing figure spoke up.

Almost instantly, the silver haired boy recognized the approaching figure. It was his teacher, the man that had sacrificed an important part of his body, especially for a hunter, just to rescue his student. Yagari Toga. The man who had taught Zero pretty much everything he knew about vampires.

"Master…" were the only words he could offer to his old mentor.

The elder man stalked towards the younger boy.

"Let's get you back to your room. A lot has happened, if the shift in the air is anything to go by." the man spoke without fully knowing what was really going on not even a mile away from him.

"I don't even know where to begin…" Zero started to say, before the world blacked out around him and he could only let his old teacher carry him away towards the unknown.

* * *

><p><strong>This chapter is exactly the same, only without the big chunky paragraphs. Thankfully sparing the readers cross-eyenessness<strong>


	9. Chapter 9  Getting Together

**Getting Together**

It was dark and nothing could be seen. She didn't feel cold, or warm for that matter. Who knew how long she had been here. It all started with a glass of strange water in the bathroom, it had seemed so innocent, so _not_ dangerous.

'_Have I been poisoned? Am I dead? Is this what happens then, when you die?__'_she considered.

It had been so long since she discovered herself surrounded by this endless darkness. Or had it? Who knew? Time is a difficult concept when you are alone with only your thoughts to keep you company. Yet the girl was oddly calm. As if she didn't have a care in the world anymore. She felt no despair, no panic, just...peace for some strange reason.

But slowly in the middle of the abyss a small dot of light could be seen. It began slowly expanding until it revealed a familiar scene.

Snow covered the ground and the trees were bare. The moon was high in the night sky, but it shined an odd color: red. The wind picked up and blew around her, her hair swirled around her in the strong breeze. But neither the snow nor the night wind made her cold. While it was obviously winter, she didn't feel any of the cold that should be there.

She glanced around trying to remember why the scene seemed so familiar to her; her mind still reeling to recover from the numbing crepuscule. But as soon as the fog in her mind lifted, she knew where she was.

This was the place of her beginning.

This was the place where she was attacked by one vampire and saved by another.

It was the place where she first met Kuran Kaname.

She hurriedly looked around to find the first vampire who, just like in the other dreams she had of this place, would surely come and attack her.

But everything felt strange. It wasn't like any of the other dreams. She would always feel cold, just as she had felt that night, now she couldn't feel anything at all. She would always see herself in her five-year old body, yet now she is in her own 15 year old one.

Her musing was cut short when she indeed saw a shadow approaching her. She attempted to turn around and run away, somehow knowing this wasn't like her normal dreams or even her nightmares, with this…dream? it was impossible to tell which kind it would be.

But before she could completely turn, she noticed that the shadow was much smaller than the vampire was supposed to be. _'__The vampire was tall, right?__'_ she asked herself.

And sure enough, the owner of the mysterious shade came into view.

It was herself.

Well, the girl she saw in the mirror, the girl from the disturbing dreams she had been plagued with…recently anyway.

"Hello, other me" Kuran Yuuki spoke out.

"Other me? What do you mean?" Cross Yuuki asked.

The questions were whirling in her mind. She had much to ask: Who was she (Kuran Yuuki)? Why were they here? What happened in the bathroom? Or to put it simply: What was going on? But before the confused human girl could even ask one question, Kuran started talking.

"Just like I said, you are a me and I am you. I know that you have questions, but please hear me out." The vampire fell silent for a while, waiting for acknowledgement from the human. Only when Cross Yuuki gave her a curt nod did she.

"We are Kuran Yuuki, the Pureblood princess of the vampire society. Our parents were Kuran Haruka and Kuran Juri. The night Kaname found you, was the night that our father and mother were killed. But before they died, Mother placed a seal on us, locking away our vampire self: me. That is why you lost all your memories of that time and that is why you were here. It is also why I have brought us here, for it holds a great meaning for both of us. My life ended here and yours started" the vampire-Yuuki slowly explained.

The human-Yuuki couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mind was trying to process all this new, surreal information. She felt like she was about to fry a circuit when she remembered one thing.

"Kuran? That means that Lord Kaname…is my-our brother?"

Realization hit her. She was in love with her brother. She was both a vampire and an indecent girl, falling for her sibling.

"Yes" the vampire started again, "he is our brother, but he is also our fiancé," she said the last words while her lips shifted in a gentle smile.

"But how is that possible, brother and fiancé?" Cross retorted. She was in a pure state of confusion and disbelief. How could all of this happen? But first things first, she decided.

"So, what's going to happen to me now? Am I to be sealed away, so you can be free? The confused girl asked cautiously.

She slowly started shifting her weight while keeping a close eye on her other self. But the two Yuuki's eyes met and the human one was somewhat calmed. There was no malicious glint or signs of anger.

Now that she thought about it, the girl she used to see in the mirror was filled with hatred, so much that even her aura seemed dark and dangerous. Something must have happened in the what-seemed-like eternity she had been in the void. Something appeasing enough to turn the creature of darkness she knew from the mirror into the serene person that stood before her now. Before she even noticed, Cross heard herself asking.

"What happened to you? You seem...different from the last time I saw you."

Where there was a gentle smile before there was now a slightly blushing face looking away.

"I drank his blood" the Kuran princess whispered.

But it was loud enough for the other to hear it. And this time caution was replaced with nothing. Just a blank expression. But why was it something to blush about? Apparently her expression wasn't that blank as she had thought…confused maybe but not blank because the blushing girl started to explain.

"Vampires can sense feelings and memories through the blood that they drink. By drinking big brother's blood, I have learned the truth about what happened and why my mother did this to me."

The vampire thought this would answer the question that was written on the opposing girls face, but she was surprised to see it still remained. She was about to ask the pondering girl what she wanted to know but was interrupted.

"But why did you blush when you said you drank his blood? I never blush when I eat something."

The vampire looked in disbelief for a second before she fell to the ground clutching her stomach. Cross Yuuki, being who she is, stepped towards the girl. She placed her arm around the crouching girl's shoulder when she felt trembling.

"Are you okay? You are tre-" Cross started asking, but she was cut off when she heard the girl laughing.

'_Why is she laughing? Did I say something funny? How rude, to laugh at somebody, she was the one saying strange things__'_ she thought to herself.

Kuran Yuuki composed herself during the human's silent musing. Finally, she stood up straight and took the hand off of her shoulder, holding it in her own.

"I'm sorry. But I couldn't help myself. You see, drinking someone else's blood is one of the most intimate acts between lovers. Besides…" Kuran looked down with a face the color of a tomato.

Even the normally slow Yuuki caught on and went from pale to red in a heartbeat. The two girl's looked at each other and started giggling.

"So…you drank...Lord Kaname's blood?" Cross asked, her face showing a sign of both sadness and joy.

"Why do you call big brother Kaname, Lord Kaname?" the vampire princess asked.

"It's a long story." the human girl stated.

"We have nothing but time, so why don't we use it and just…talk?" The two girls looked at each other and smiled. And so they did, they just talked.

* * *

><p>It has been six days since the event at Ichijou's party. Kaname Kuran never left the room in which he kept watch over the sleeping form of his Yuuki. Classes had been cancelled until further notice. Kiryuu Zero had gone missing for 3 days after Yuuki's transformation and when he came back he never once came to check up on the sleeping girl. Cross Kaien came as often as possible to check up on his daughter and he was the only one actually allowed in the room.<p>

So a small group of nobles was confined to the common room, waiting for any kind of update on the current situation. It was not a rare thing for Akatsuki, Ruka, Hanabusa, Takuma, Shiki and Rima to be found together just talking. What was strange however, was the fact that Seiren was now also amongst the young nobles. Proving just how cautious the Kuran prince was being.

"It's been six days already. Why won't anybody tell us what is going on? Why was Yuuki-chan hidden all this time?" Hanabusa exclaimed.

Like always, the loudmouth spoke/yelled first. When he realized the volume with which he spoke he soon clapped his hands on his mouth, as if it would actually help, and glanced behind him, checking to see if a frustrated Kaname would pop out and smack him.

Akatsuki audibly sighed and looked at the group around him. Shiki and Rima were, as always, sitting next to each other on the couch across him and, as usual, they showed neither impatience nor frustration. Next to Shiki sat Ichijou, who for once, was not smiling. He actually had a concerned look on his face. It was known to happen, but it rarely did and if it did, it meant something was going on. Next to Kain himself sat Ruka Souen, sad and uncomfortable, on his left and his cousin, frustrated AND impatient, on his right.

"There is nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is wait. So just try and stay calm, Hanabusa." he requested his fidgeting cousin and the blond heeded the request.

Silence reigned for a few moments before a barely audible 'whoosh' was heard. Seiren, who had been standing behind the couch out of Kain's sight, was now gone. Everybody looked at the empty space the bodyguard had just vacated and then stared openly at each other. But nobody needed to ask why she had disappeared, for they all knew the answer: Kaname had summoned her and that meant something had happened.


	10. Chapter 10  Precaution

**Precaution**

As was suspected, not even 10 minutes after Seiren vanished from the room, Cross Kaien burst through the door and bolted up the stairs. All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The vampires who had just witnessed the lighting fast man gaped at the balcony the headmaster had darted across.

Not being able to contain both his curiosity and his impatience, Aidou too, ran up the stairs. He was being closely followed by Ichijou and the pair made their way down the corridor before finally arriving at the Dorm President's office. They stood outside, trying to listen at the door, when another 'whoosh' alerted them to Seiren's presence.

"Lord Kaname orders you to go back to either your rooms or the common room and make sure that he is not disturbed. Lord Ichijou is to assume temporary supervision of the Night-Class until further notice" the girl said while boring holes into the head of Aidou.

She finally looked up to Ichijou, gave a polite bow and made her way to the door. She took up her position in front of it; intent on keeping away any unwanted visitor's but made no further attempt to clarify the situation at hand.

Not at all satisfied by the orders he just received, Aidou went forward with a determined look on his face. However, he had thought that Ichijou would be there to back him up, which apparently that was not the case.

Without warning, Ichijou seized his arm and lead him back down the stairs to rejoin the small gathering of nobles. They were looked at with anticipation; even Akatsuki had an inquiring look on his usually stoic features. Ichijou explained what happened, not that it was anything elaborate, and sat down again. Waiting for some news regarding all of this.

* * *

><p>Kaname remained seated at the edge of the bed, holding Yuuki's hand as she calmly took in her surroundings. She looked at the young man above her, with his beautiful brown hair framing his perfect features, who was smiling down softly at her. She turned to her right to see a man with tousled blond hair, thick glasses and a beige shawl thrown over his shoulders bawling his eyes out.<p>

"Good morning, big brother Kaname… Headmaster." the girl whispered. Kaname squeezed her hand, while Kaien patted her head.

"Good morning Yuuki. How are you feeling?"

The young man was already assured about her memory since she called him brother, so now had to make sure she was physically okay. The Headmaster on the other hand was going crazy and was doing his best not to let the tears fall, but remained sniffling.

"I'm fine. just a little thirsty." she hinted bashfully.

Kaname felt his heart warm when he saw his girl asking so shyly for something that she practically owned. Still, he looked at the man kneeling next to him, silently asking him for approval. The man simply nodded and left the room, but not before he looked over his shoulder and smiled sadly at his little girl.

'_How the years have flown by__'_ he thought to himself. He knew this day would come eventually, but it had happened so fast. But now he had to let her go and it pained him more than he thought it would.

The two vampires waited until the door had closed before Kaname brought himself over the girl. He could feel the heat radiating from her body, but knew he would have to control himself a little longer. The changes from human to vampire, no matter how it came about, bitten by a pureblood or in this case released from a seal, were painful for both the mind and the body, therefore she was not yet ready to be drank from. But he would wait, as he has waited the past ten years.

He placed his hand behind her neck and felt her shiver at the contact. It made his smile wider, to know that she reacted like that because of a mere touch, but he focused at the task at hand and gently pulled her head closer to his neck.

He wanted to say that she could drink, but before he even finished the thought, he felt those –now- wonderfully familiar fangs sink into his neck. He suppressed a moan when he heard the sucking sound coming from those soft lips he wanted to touch, to kiss, to devour.

The whole blissful feeling lasted maybe a minute, but for him it was over in a second. She lay back down on the bed and with an "I'm tired, is it okay if I sleep a little bit more?" was asleep in seconds. He tucked her in, brushed a stray hair behind her ear and placed a soft kiss on her temple.

"Sleep tight, my princess.

* * *

><p>Cross Kaien was standing outside the door waiting for Yuuki to finish, he knew that the transformation process was accompanied by an incredible thirst and she would need to feed regularly…he wasn't an experienced vampire hunter for nothing, even if he was retired.<p>

But it didn't ease the pain in his chest at all. His little girl was growing up and the time for her to spread her wings and fly away was nearing. The former hunter stopped thinking about it when he heard the door creak open.

* * *

><p>Kaname walked out and gestured for Kaien to walk in. She would be asleep for most of the time, but at least he would have the reassurance that she was fine, tired but alive at least. Seiren, who had stepped aside to let her master pass, was once again given the order to guard the door. She bowed in acknowledgement and Kaname made his way to the common room, where he knew his underlings would be waiting restlessly, now in particular, seeing as the scent of his blood still lingered in the air.<p>

The pureblood walked up to the balcony and looked down at the sitting area. As he had expected, six fidgeting vampires were sitting on the sofas there. It was, of course, no surprise that he was first noticed by Aidou, but he ignored the currently speechless blond and descended down the stairwell.

Once in front of the nobles, they stood up and bowed curtly. The first one to speak up however was not the impulsive Aidou, but rather the normally easy-going Ichijou.

"Kaname, how is she…Yuuki-chan?" he asked.

Kaname answered all the questions that were asked of him. Was she really a Pureblood? Was she really the legitimate child of Juri and Haruka? Was she really his fiancée? How did her vampire nature get sealed? What did he mean by his parents getting killed? Didn't they commit suicide? He would not normally do such a thing, but he had to set their minds at ease in order for them to remain loyal. Of course he left out the important details, like who targeted his parents, how Yuuki ended up as the daughter of Cross Kaien and everything else that could be used against him.

When the questions stopped, he gave his interviewers some time to process all the new– even shocking- information, and he sat down. He carefully looked over the people standing around him and he started to relay the next course of action, for he had an assignment for each of them.

* * *

><p>When the Prince came back, he found Cross Kaien was kneeling beside the bed, holding Yuuki's hand to his forehead. It almost looked as if he was praying. The Pureblood vampire made his presence known, probably unnecessary when considering who he was alerting.<p>

He listened to everything Kaname told him and realized he was still kneeling beside the bed. He gently putdown the girls hand and pulled the sheet to cover her. Once straightened up he walked towards the desk where the brown-haired man was quietly waiting for a response.

"I agree Kaname-kun, it is for the best if she transfers to the Night-class. It will be a huge transition but it is for her own good. I will have to find a proper replacement for her prefect duties, but that is a concern for later. 

You said you will have somebody to guide her in this world? Why not do it yourself?" he asked.

"I think it is important that she interacts with other people and Aidou has a lot of experience in society. Ruka Souen can teach her proper etiquette, although I would like Yuuki's existence to be unknown, it is inevitable for the council to find out" the vampire explained.

Indeed, it wouldn't be too long before the Council of Ancients find out about Yuuki and she had to have at least a basic understanding about the ways of vampires, if only to appease the members.

"Do you think that she will be in danger if the Ancients find out?" the hunter asked worried.

It wasn't a strange question, not since Kaien was fully aware of everything that had happened concerning Kaname and Yuuki's childhood…well almost everything.

"I think it is essential that she remains here. For now Cross Academy is the safest place for her. All my supporters are gathered here and even the Hunters Association won't interfere too much as long as you are here."

The two men just stood there looking at each other for a while, almost as if the conversation continued with silent words conveyed through eye-contact. The "conversation" ended when a rustle was heard as sheets shifted around a sleeping body. Kaien smiled fondly at the sleeping beauty curled beneath the covers and decided that Kaname was right, as long as he remained headmaster he would never allow anything to happen to Yuuki.

So he gave the vampire a nod of approval and left the room. He had to make some preparations after all that had happened…get a new prefect, meet an old 'friend', deal with Zero and keep the Association at bay.

'_Being a Headmaster is a lot more work than I thought it would be__'_.

* * *

><p><strong>Once more, the only changes made were the long paragraphs.<strong>


	11. Chapter 11  Confession

**Authors Note:**** The last chapter that was up, is ow up once more, modified to prevent headache-by-bigchunkyparagraphious. I have two completely new chapters waiting to be published, but please be patient so I can get them beta'd. Thanks for all the patience everybody has shown.**

* * *

><p><strong>Confessions<strong>

"Are you telling me that after three weeks you still haven't told her how you feel? Even after defying a pure-blood, especially a Kuran?" Aidou yelled.

The crimson haired target of the, once again, insufferable lecture just answered with a shrug.

"I just want her to be happy. If that means that I can only be her friend, then so be it. I just want to see her smile, even if it isn't caused by me" replied Akatsuki.

The two cousins locked eyes with one another and only broke apart after a few moments when the blond Hanabusa let out a exasperated sigh.

"Listen here," the Aidou heir started, "She is currently dealing with the fact, that her 'love-interest' is already taken. This is the right time for you to get closer to her. Keep her company, be her rock –like always- but this time closer, and give her more hints that you will ALWAYS be there for her. I am not saying you HAVE to confess everything to her, but you can make your own feelings more known to her, show her you care."

Kain was slowly losing his patience. It was nothing new, his cousin would tell him this every once in a while. Lately though, since the arrival of Princess Yuuki, this conversation has been a daily occurrence.

"Even if you say that, even if all that happened, I don't wanna hear her reply. Someone like me isn't worthy of someone like her" the tall male said sadly.

He looked at his relative and the tone matched his expression. Hanabusa has known Akatsuki for almost his entire life, but the look he saw right know was one he had never seen before. Fear.

Why? Nobody knows. Everybody that knows the Kain heir, sees a silent man, with sharp observational skills, a great analyzer of potentially dangerous situations and a man who knows where to be at the right time (especially so when it concerns a Souen Ruka).

The people that really know him though, know that the calm front is used to keep the real Akatsuki in check. The one that will defy all who stand above him to further his cause, who will move heaven and earth to please those he loves. Who will rip apart the people who hurt his friends/family/ loved ones.

Hanabusa knows this, Lord Kaname knows this and it would be strange if Ruka didn't know this.

As annoying as the blond ice manipulator is to some, he does know when not to press a matter any further...or press that much harder.

"If you won't tell her how you feel then I will do it for you" the shorter man said.

He turned around and headed towards the door. He stopped with the doorknob in hand when he felt the temperature rise. He froze into place (no pun intended) and let his eyes roam left and right. He realized that fire was surrounding him on both sides. Without seeing it directly he already knew what awaited him if he turned, but he still did.

What faced him was maybe worse than what he expected –and even his expectations were terrifying- the murderous intent was thick in the air and even though the light from the surrounding fire should have lit everything around, there was a darkness that wrapped around Akatsuki.

"I don't care if you are my cousin or that I will have to face the wrath of both our families, if you take just one more step towards her with that in mind...not even your ashes remain. Do I make myself clear?"

Even though it was a question, it was perfectly clear that answering with anything other than a 'yes' would not end well for our blond haired boy.

"If you tell her, everything will change" the red-head continued "the way she talks to me, the way she looks at me, the way she acts around me, hell that is if she will even WANTS to be around me."

Aidou finally understood the reason his cousin hadn't made a move. The possibility that his most precious possession (his platonic relationship with his heart's desire) would shatter, was pretty much crippling him, preventing him from doing anything more, to move their almost-relationship to the next level.

He would let it drop for now, so he acquiesced with a nod and a grunt, a silent promise between men that he would let it rest.

* * *

><p>Both were unaware, however, that on the other side of the door a dark-blond vampire had come to seek out her most trusted friend. One she could always rely on, one that would always be there for her, no matter what happened.<p>

And now, just moments before she was about to open the door, she heard the last thing she thought she would ever hear: a confession. From her best friend no less.

When the conversation died down, she felt it best to avoid being seen –well run away would be a better way to describe it- and make her way back to her room where she could contemplate all of the information she had discovered, even if it was by accident.

* * *

><p>In the midst of all the confusion and conflict, on the other side of the dorm, lay a sleeping beauty. Even though it has been three weeks since she 'woke up', she continued to sleep throughout the day only waking up every so often to feed. The source of her nutrition didn't mind though. He would kill to have her awake, in his arms, on his lips, able to see her smile, but her recovery was his main priority. And if it meant that she would sleep often and drink even more, then so be it.<p>

Although an improvement was noticeable, it was still nowhere near perfect. She would remain awake longer, thus sleeping less and she would also drink less, thus having more time to talk. The talks were mostly about their parents, small things like the stuffed animal she got for her birthday as a child. But sometimes, especially during the last few days, when she was awake for longer periods of time, she would ask about what really happened. Who killed their parents? How did she get away unscathed? Why did he stay silent for so long? He could try to explain it in words, but he had an easier way.

The way of blood.

He could show her what he knew, what he felt and what he thought was best. Although he was absolutely terrified to let her know everything, about who he was, why he couldn't kill Rido when it was necessary, he answered all her questions as honestly as he could. But to his relief, after her curiosity was satisfied, she would lick the remaining traces of blood from his skin and close her eyes, dozing with a small content smile on her lips.

It wasn't too long, however, before he found out that she knew something was being concealed from her.

It took but one question to turn his world upside-down and to change the ever stoic look on his face into one of panic, fear and anxiety.

"What are you hiding from me?" was the question she asked.

He could never deny her anything, but the fear of her leaving him, hating him, being afraid of him made him tell her, what turned out to be unconvincing, a lie.

"I would never tell you anything but the truth, my dearest princess."

Even though the dark-haired beauty could not suppress the blush that snuck onto her face, she kept a patient, but questioning look on her beautiful face.

She leaned closer to his pulse point and he realized what she was trying to do. She would extract the truth out of him, one way or another. He held her biceps, trying to keep her at bay, but all it did was strengthen her determination to find out the truth. She craned her neck to reach, but he easily pushed her further away.

With a sad look he asked her. "Do you not trust me, Yuuki?" and it was that small sentence that made her panic and try to apologize...until she saw a small glint of what looked like relief in his eyes.

"Lord-Kaname", that got his attention "I just...want to...be of help to you" and with a tear in her eye and a sad look away from her precious one, she started withdrawing again.

'_Of course he wouldn't confide in me. Even now that I am a vampire, even when I am his so-called fiancé, he still won't have faith in me.' _

Apparently that did the trick, because the next thing she felt was the large warm hand leaving her arm and cupping her cheek. She looked up to meet the chocolate brown eyes she adored so much and all she could see was affection. Maybe even a tint of fear mixed in it.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could hear a small, hidden voice yelling at him to drop the subject, screaming at him that it was better and, more importantly, safer for her not to know. But most of his mind was consumed by the fact that he had caused her to cry, that he had made her sad. The heart wrenching feeling of seeing the one thing you never ever want to see happen before your eyes, hurt even more now because he was the cause of it. He had to show her that he DID trust her, that he did not WANT to hide anything from her, that he was just terrified of what her reaction might be (**A/N: these vampires are scared a lot huh**). '_Even if she hates me in the end, she will now the truth' _was the last thought in his mind, before he gently guided her head towards his neck, fully focussing on all that had transpired between Rido, every deed he had undertaken to protect her...about every little thing that he is, bloodline included. Even when he felt the tiniest bit of bliss with her teeth puncturing his skin, he focused on his memories, his feelings.

'_This, my dearest Yuuki, will be my confession'._

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><p><strong>Authors Note:<strong>

**First of all, I would like to thank everybody who is hanging in there with me. I have been going through some personal problems. But I have finished some new chapters chapter that I hope you will be able enjoy in the near future.**

**Second of all. I noticed that practically every writer mentions disclaimer rights or what not. About them not owning the characters. Well I didn't think it necessary, since everybody who follows the show knows who really does own it, but just in case I stepped on some toes:**

**I do not own any of the characters I have used or will use in my story.**

**And last but most importantly, a thank you to ****Crikeywhathappened, for her continuous help and support. Thanks for everything you have done for me and for the upcoming future.**


	12. Chapter 12  Little Changes

**Authors Note: **It has been quite some time since I uploaded a new chapter, my apologies for that. But without further ado, here it is. I hope you enjoy it.****

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><p><strong>Little Changes<strong>

Another week had passed; an uneventful week, but a week nonetheless. Even though nothing really happened, there were some things that were noticeably different compared to seven days ago. Ruka seemed to be avoiding Akatsuki. Aidou seemed even more nervous and agitated than normal. But most importantly, Lord Kaname had not been seen since he left the week prior.

Rumors started to circulate concerning his sudden disappearance. Normally the Pureblood Prince would announce his absence, occasionally finding it appropriate to give a reason, but more often not. But this time even his faithful friend Ichijou did not know his whereabouts.

Being so long without the guidance of their leader, tension between the students of the Night Class was almost palpable and Ichijou was having problems maintaining authority, even if he was the Vice-President of the Moon-Dorm. The blond sword master restricted everyone to their quarters each evening. This is where the now bickering cousins, Kain and Aidou, were found.

"If you did not tell her, then why is she avoiding me?", the annoyed Kain heir half-shouted. The heat radiated from his hands as he was facing his equally annoyed roommate.

"I promised you I wouldn't tell her and I haven't! How can you still think that I have? I know I may have done some stupid things in the past, but I thought you, of all people, knew me better than that?",

Hanabusa was obviously angry at the accusation, but only a very select few, Akatsuki among others, recognized the hurt in his voice. Akatsuki felt his anger slowly dissipate, and he hung his head in shame, silently apologizing.

"But if you didn't say anything, then why is she avoiding me? Have I done something wrong? Offended her in any way?", Kain went through all of his memories of Ruka over the past two weeks, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary and judging by the looks of Aidou's face, he couldn't either.

"Maybe you should just give it some time," the blond paused and gave the red-head a reassuring smile before continuing, "in the mean time, I'll see if I can find out from Rima or Shiki, he spends most of his time in their room, maybe they know anything."

Fear and anxiety still ruled the mind of Akatsuki, but it relieved him slightly to see that he was not all alone in this mess. Now he just had to hope that she would forgive him for whatever he did.

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><p>A very bored Rima looked out towards her roommate, who just ended another rant about what was 'supposedly' wrong with Akatsuki.<p>

"And I have known him since I was 3 years old! He is like my brother!", Ruka exclaimed, "I can't possibly face him! What am I going to say? How should I look? Should I smile or look angry?"

Her latest tirade was interrupted when Shiki sat up from his position, lying on Rima's bed.

"Do you hate him?" he simply asked. It was not a strange question, but somehow she was reluctant to answer.

Even when looking bored the two models managed to radiate a questioning aura. After a long silent moment the dark-blond could only mumble "…no."

If it weren't for the heightened senses of the vampires, they probably would have missed it, but they didn't and Shiki pressed on.

"What is the problem then? He knows you in and out, witnessed every side of you, good and bad, yet he still says that he 'loves' you. He has witnessed the times when you were fawning over Lord Kaname, but still remained at your side. Imagine what it must have felt like for him when you looked so dreamy towards someone other than him."

His words only made Ruka gape at him in shock, or perhaps horror. It was the first time she heard him speak more than 3 words. She glanced at Rima to gauge her reaction, but she just nodded in agreement. Figures, she would be aware of the more talkative side of Senri.

She looked at the mahogany strains of hair whipping about and then the disapproving shake of Shiki's head. When he lay back down he pulled his co-worker down with him, leaving a confused, and slightly sad Ruka standing in the middle of the room.

She walked towards her bad and let herself drop down on the soft mattress. She had some serious thinking to do.

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><p>Outside however, it was not a woman on the other side of the door, but a blond headed boy. 'No need to tell Akatsuki bout this. Let's see how this will all fold out' Aidou thought to himself, before slowly and, most importantly, silently walked back to his room.<p>

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><p>'<em>So many memories' <em>he wondered.

Silently walking around the mansion he had woken up in after a good 9,000 years, was a tall man basking in the emotions he held for the home he had lived in for a short decade.

The man passed through the main hall, gazing along the walls, where the paintings of his descendants hung.

Passing by the kitchen, he could still see the few servants his 'parents' employed during his 'childhood' bustling around. He could still hear his 'mother' playing the piano in the music room, the notes echoing throughout the halls of the mansion.

He even passed his bedroom and he could still vividly remember the day when he told his 'father' everything about who he was and what Rido had done.

The end of his pilgrimage was in his most beloved part of the manor, the basement.

It was in this section of the house where the most time was spent. It was the place where his most precious memories originated from. Yuuki's living quarters.

It could pass as a small house all on its own. It had a living room, dining room, a kitchen, a lavatory, bathroom and last but not least Yuuki's private chambers.

He passed the door entering the living room; it still looked the same as it had all those years ago. He sat down on the couch and just breathed in the lingering smell along with the accompanying memories.

His most treasured memory of Yuuki took place on this very spot.

He cannot help but smile as he remembered the soft shuffling of tiny feet coming near him. The sleep filled eyes of his heart's desire when she crawled on the sofa next to him. The tenderness of her small hands wrapping around his head, softly whispering the words: "Good boy…good boy… good boy. Don't be lonely."

It was the first time, as far as he could recall, in his entire lifetime that he had shed tears.

He stood up from his seat, shaking away the sentiment taking over his mind and continued wandering through the remaining rooms. Stopping at the end of the line he gazed into a small bedroom.

Shifting his gaze to and fro, taking in all the details, he lets his eyes rest on the tiny bed in the farthest corner. He could still see a six year old Yuuki sleeping in it, as clearly as he could still hear her soft breathing.

His trip down memory lane was cut off when he felt a familiar presence approach.

"Seiren?" he quietly calls out.

The girl with violet hair once again appears from nowhere, but the young man was not surprised.

She was as formal as ever, but she seemed slightly disturbed.

"Lord Kaname, Lady Yuuki has sent me to find you. She wishes to see you." The girl explained.

The pureblood let out a small chuckle. He had ordered her to leave him in peace and the fact that she was still here meant that Yuuki has used her authority. It was of no wonder that his servant looked so uncomfortable.

"Let us go then. We do not wish to keep the Princess waiting" he directed softly, the empty walls amplifying his voice, 'and her verdict. Will I die today or finally be allowed to be with her?' he added in his thoughts.

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><p><strong>Earlier<strong>

A loud crash echoed throughout the dormitory and the unmistakable presence of Kuran Yuuki filled the air. The vampires that were awake stilled their conversations or looked up from their books.

All but three were anxiously waiting what would happen. The three that weren't, were scared out of their mind, still vividly remembering the last encounter they had with the Pureblood Princess.

One of them however was quick to regain his equilibrium and rushed away towards one of the others, fully knowing what kind of affect it could have on her.

The flame-haired man was at his destination in less than a breath and entered while scanning the room, "Ruka!" he yelled.

The girl in question was found shivering behind her bed in an attempt to hide, but when she saw his face, she visibly calmed down.

"Akatsuki" she breathed in relief and in an instant, he sat behind her and held her steady.

He whispered calming words in her ear, saying that everything would be alright, that he would protect her.

But even he knew, that if the former-human wanted to do harm she would find little opposition. The only one with the power to stop it was currently not present, so nobody could stand in her way… but he was not going to tell her that.

The presence kept coming closer and closer until it suddenly stopped.

Soft muttering could be heard through the door and, straining his ears, Kain could make out the voice of Seiren saying "…he is available…" a few times.

What came in much less of a surprise was the commanding tone of Yuuki ordering the bodyguard to retrieve him.

The voice that belonged to Seiren could no longer be heard but the atmosphere seemed to calm.

Yuuki's aura was felt retreating to her and Kaname's private room and the entire population released a breath that they didn't know they were holding.

The fire-wielder looked down at the woman in his arms, "It's okay now, Ruka. She's gone, you're safe."

He gave her a reassuring smile, but was surprised when he received a kiss in return. Totally stupefied by this gesture, he could only stare down at her when she pulled away.

The vampiress in his arms seemed to realize what she just did and shot up from his arms and walked around the bed.

"Th-Thank you, A-Akatsuki. I will be going to bed now. Could you please l-l-leave?" Ruka whispered.

The man, still slightly in stupor, would've been hurt if he had not seen her blushing face and realised that she was just as confused as he was.

He got up and calmly walked to the door, although this time with a reassuring smile, reaching for the door knob he turned back, "you know where to find me if anything happens."

After saying what he needed to say he left the room.

Before the blond could utter a single word, the sound of two people gasping in shock resounded in the room:"You kissed him!" said the disbelieving heads of Rima and Shiki poking from underneath Rima's covers.

With a quiet groan, Ruka cursed herself for forgetting the two were in the same room.

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><p><strong>So, I hope you enjoyed it. Critique and feedback is very welcome, since I can't improve if I do not know what is wrong or could be better.<strong>

**And please stand-by for the next chapter, which I hope to bring out this weekend.**


	13. Chapter 13 Reacting

**Authors Note:** **My newest chapter. I added a little poem. No specific reason, just felt like it. Please enjoy.**

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><p>All my life I had to live in this abyss<p>

Never a possibility of a life like this

You made me see it for the first time

But this doesn't resolve me of my crime

.

You are the one thing that can save me

Without you I wouldn't be able to see

See that I don't have to live in this mess

You made me see and nothing less

.

You are the light I hold on to everyday

I will do anything for you in any way

So please stay with me and be my light

Cause without you I can't fight

.

I know I have to keep fighting to live

Cause I have a lot of sin's to forgive

Now that you here I'm so brave

I will keep living to keep you safe

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><p><strong>Reacting<strong>

It didn't take long for the vampire prince to get back to Cross Academy. Being a pureblood meant some nifty abilities after all. He made his way through the entrance and spared no time heading up the stairs and down the hallway towards his, hopefully, future queen.

He didn't meet many people on his trip to his chambers, but it was kind of nice, the faces that he did encounter were all relieved to see him, strange but welcomed all the same.

Kuran Kaname reached the end of the hallway and stepped into his private quarters. Once inside he shut the door behind him, and was greeted by utter darkness. It didn't take long for the vampire to adjust to a lightless area and he soon spotted a still form on his bed.

He moved towards it, but stood still when said form shot up and looked at him with twin crimson orbs, watching his every move.

The lights switched on, seemingly from out of nowhere and Kaname allowed himself a breath of relief when his eyesight came back to full ability.

He let his eyes take in the appearance of the small form on his bed.

A small form, with only an ivory white nightgown lay upon his bed. The girl was propped up by both her arms while her face was turned towards him. Long coffee-brown hair covered most of her face, but not enough to hide the bright-red eyes peering through it.

Although her face was mostly hidden, the aura that surrounded the girl gave away the way she was feeling. Angry, needy –and most of all- hungry.

He stood still where he was, not knowing what to do. It was not a situation he was accustomed to, but this small form held so much power over him it was ridiculous.

The girl stood up from the bed and made her way towards the couch, where she quietly sat down and continued to stare towards him.

She patted the seat next to her, but didn't change her expression, nor was there a change in her aura.

As if ordered, he made towards his 'seat' and sat down anxiously next to the hungry woman.

He opened his mouth to speak, to make a testimony on his behalf, but was silenced when her finger covered his lips.

He dared not make another sound and waited to see what she would say; or do, if worst came to worst. But he had no choice but to wait.

The small entity stood up half way, shifted her feet and sat down in his lap. Her eyes returned to her normal color and two chocolate-brown irises' met each other.

She moved her arms around his waist, slowly sliding up and hooked around his shoulder.

"Big brother" she softly whispered. She snuggled closer into his chest while saying the words.

The man himself was facing a huge dilemma, give in to the feelings and just embrace her or push her away to ask her if she realizes what she is doing. He didn't even notice his own hands taking hold of her shoulder and gently push her back a bit. Not until he was looking straight in her eyes.

"My dearest Yuuki, I'm not your brother. I showed you that right? I would accept a killing blow from you, but please do not force yourself for me" the older man pleaded.

The girl withdrew her hands from his shoulder, something that left him feeling immensely cold even though he expected it. What he did not expect however, was the softness of her tiny hands cupping his face, gently stroking his jaw.

"I'm sorry, Big Brother, but it takes some getting used to calling you just…Kaname." the last words a mere whisper, causing a cute blush to grace her cheeks.

Once again, he had to fight his urges to not just pounce on her. Kiss her. Devour her, when she looked so adorable. He took a deep breath to regain his sanity and cupped her chin in one hand. He tilted her head, so their eyes could meet again and said

"You should be calling me a monster, for that is what I am. My hands are covered in the blood of thousands if not more. I showed you all of this, but you still..." his defenses were breaking. He could mask everything from the world or the most observant of men/vampire, but in front of her, he just couldn't keep up the wall and be something other than himself.

The girl interrupted him again. Only this time she took the hand on her chin in her hand and brought it to her mouth. His eyes widened when he felt her soft lips placing butterfly kisses on the palm of his hand moving to each of his fingers before placing it on her cheek.

"I don't care." was all she said to him before he slung his arms around her tiny waist and pulled her close against him.

"Actually," the young lady started "I feel kind of relieved knowing that you aren't my real brother."

This earned her a curious look. In the vampire world, it was what made them the most suitable partners to keep their Pureblood bloodline intact.

"Why is that?" The ancient asked.

"Because that was made us feel the most awkward about…us" was the once again blushing girls reply. "Now both of us feel that there isn't a barrier holding us back, or stopping us from loving you."

"Us? Who else are we talking about?" the confusion was practically dripping of the male's face.

"That is…complicated to explain, but can you wait a little bit longer before I explain it to you?"

"If that is your wish, I will wait as long as is necessary, my Yuuki."

The small being in his arms gave him a warm smile and reached up ever so slightly to give him a small peck on the lips.

Even though the touch was as light as a feather, it was as if a dam broke inside Kaname. His once strong self-control, which had already suffered blow after blow these past couple of weeks, just received a tidal wave of emotions when he felt the warm soft lips of his love pressed against his own.

He shifted his arm to cup the back of her head and kissed her again. To say Yuuki was surprised would be an understatement. She tried to push him away at first, but it didn't last long before she gave way to her own feelings and started to kiss him back.

The man himself was starting to reign himself in when he felt her push, but lost his composure completely when he felt her kiss back.

He gently licked her bottom lip and the surprise made Yuuki gasp. Not one to waste opportunities, Kaname slipped his tongue in the now slightly opened mouth and played with the slick muscle that seemed quite at a loss for what to do. '_She's still Yuuki, so shy_' he chuckled mentally.

The still muscle started to move slowly, not exactly sure what to do, but gaining more confidence each passing second. It wasn't before long that the two tongues were battling for dominance. Their passion escalated and the couple could feel the temperature starting to rise.

Even though Yuuki was distracted by the passionate battle of mouths, she was almost painfully aware of the hand that was resting on her hip before, was now softly kneading her hip. At first touch it felt weird; it caused some sort of warm tingly feeling in her belly. But it was not an uncomfortable feeling, in fact, she started to like it.

The brunette shifted and twisted until she was straddling him, her gown hitching up in the process, revealing that glorious silky skin of hers, but never broke the kiss. The shifting made one of the long arms of her lover rest on her behind, who in turn gave it a firm squeeze. She moaned into his mouth, very much liking the feeling of his hands on her body.

For his part, he was immensely enjoying the feeling of her skin on his fingers, when she shifted and her backside was within grasp, he couldn't help but grope a little at the soft, but nicely firm butt of his beloved. He thought that she would be awkward about it, never having been as close as this to the intimate act of lovemaking, but her moaning in his mouth proved otherwise.

This new position was proving to be more arousing than they thought it would. She could feel something hard touching her most private area and she felt her body starting to grind their hips together, gaining a bit of friction from where she felt the pressure against her hot core.

He slowly moved one arm to her back, to pull her flush against him, feeling her supple breasts through the flimsy fabric of her nightgown and his shirt, press against his chest. His free hand left her butt and softly started to caress her inner thigh, his thumb incher towards her core with every stroke he made.

The temperature was getting almost unbearable, but they couldn't stop, they could both feel something building and although he knew what it was, this was all very unfamiliar to her. But it didn't hold her back. Her grinding became more powerful, longer and so much more pleasing with every passing second.

She stilled for one long second when she felt a strange hand starting to enter her panties, gasping as he found her wet folds.

"…Kaname…" Yuuki said uncertainly, now more aware of the direction they were heading.

"It is alright, Yuuki, if you want to stop we will stop." was his –slightly- disappointed reply.

He retracted his hand from her underwear and the loss of warmth on her folds made her shoot out and catch his hand.

"No!" she said suddenly. A blush started to cover her face, realizing how bold and seemingly indecent she was behaving.

"I…I want to…continue...If you want to." the girl said shyly. She couldn't face him.

She felt a hand cup her cheek once more and looked into his eyes. She was met by those beautiful chocolate eyes of his, which held so much adoration, so much love, just for her.

"It would be my honor, my gentle princess." he whispered before his lips found hers once again.

His hands landed on her waist, gently kneading the warm flesh hidden beneath the –now infuriating- silk material that kept their skin apart. One hand slowly moved up, cupping a breast, it fitting perfect in his palm, tenderly massaging it. Every now and then flicking her hardened nipple with his finger.

The room must have cooled down in their short break, because the temperature was getting out of control again. Their grinding hips picking up pace, him meeting her stroke for stroke, firmly thrusting his hips up to meet hers.

And oh how the small sounds of pleasure sounded in his ear. He was not a one-minute man, but with his love finally here, in his lap, stimulating his erection in a way he never even dreamed about, her breasts in his hand while kissing her and hearing her make those delectable sounds was slowly, but surely tipping him over the edge.

And if her breathing pattern and frantic hip movements were any indication, he was not the only one nearing that edge.

That could feel it coming closer and closer almost spilling over.

"What? MY GRANDFATHER IS COMING?" came a loud, panicked scream from the corridor beyond their closed door.

And as pleasurable as the experience was to both of them, the moment was ruined.

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><p><strong>It was my first time writing something erotic, so I hope it was of decent quality. I would appreciate reviews to find out what you thought about it.<strong>

**I have a new chapter in the making, but might not be ready for upload this week, so please hold on for a bit.**

**P.S. Thank you Crikeywhathappened for your hard work as my Beta.**


	14. Chapter 14 First Appearance

**Authors Note: ****Sorry for the delay. It has been way too long since my last update. I can make tons of excuses, but the truth is, it seems to be getting quite hard coming up with decent chapters. So I hope this is to everybody's liking. Also, I am already making steady progress with a new chapter, so I hope that will be out quite soon too. Now, enough talking. Read and enjoy.**

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><p><strong>First Appearance<strong>

It was quiet in the Moon Dorm. Since the Dorm President had given his most loyal followers their orders, life had returned to normal.

Well, almost.

How does one go back to 'normal' when so much mind-blowing information is revealed? Yuuki is a Pureblood –and a Kuran at that- and she is the fiancée of Lord Kaname. And then there was that disturbing scene, just last night, those that was present suppressed a shudder at the memory. But besides the revelations, the long hours of absence of their leader and the night before, the Night Class diligently went about their orders. Classes picked up again, even though the squealing Day Class dorms were more relentless with only one prefect left to keep them in check.

Even without Kaname's commanding presence that automatically instilled subordination, Takuma was doing an admirable job of keeping everyone in line. The atmosphere was returning back to before the disastrous birthday party, thanks to the return of the everyday routine –as boring as it was- to the students. Aidou was in high spirits when he thought of what was going to happen the next evening.

"**I wonder how many chocolates I'll get this year. Akatsuki, wanna compete with me? Let****'****s see who gets the most!"**The blond noble said, playfully.

Akatsuki could only shake his head at the childish 'challenge'. The reaction to Valentine's Day was always mixed among the nobles. Shiki and Rima found it a bother, like most other things in life; Ichijou found it highly amusing and Ruka just found it disgusting…all those stupid humans groveling at them every single day was enough and now there was a day when they could even give them (the boys…normally) candy and presents. None of the girls outside had been taught any manners and were so unladylike towards people they wanted to 'court', screaming their love, that it frustrated Ruka to no end. But for Kaname-sama she was able to swallow the sentiment.

The common room was starting to gain occupants, all the nobles waiting for the start of lessons, when their senses alerted them to the presence of their leader. Everyone was surprised though when they saw he was not alone. Down came Kuran Kaname and in his hand was the smaller hand of his wife-to-be, Kuran Yuuki.

Everyone winced at the sight of her, vividly remembering their earlier meeting.

_**Flashback**_

_The entry hall was full with the inhabitants of the Moon Dorm, all but two were present (of which one was a supposed secret); present to pay their respect to an important visitor. Many of the young nobles felt nervous with the knowledge of just _who_ was coming. Others were not familiar with the Head of the Council of Ancients. They only knew that he was an old and powerful vampire and that he was the grandfather of Ichijou Takuma._

_Their nervous and contemplating thoughts were interrupted when the soft footsteps came down the stairs. Everyone bowed when Kaname Kuran glided down, everyone except Takuma, who looked up at him with an anxious look on his face._

"_Kaname! You didn't have to come down yourself; I bet he just came to give me an earful about something silly."__ He exclaimed._

"_It has been quite some time since I last saw Ichiou; I would like to pay my respect."__ He let that sink in with the blond before continuing __"__Am I not allowed to?"__ And with that the subject was dropped._

_As if orchestrated, as soon as the prince stepped on the floor, the heavy oak doors of the entrance were blown open, letting in a sharp cold wind. Just outside the entry, stood a tall figure, cloaked in the shadows. He didn't stand there for long as he took his first step in the threshold just a few seconds later (probably making sure the doors wouldn't swing back in his face upon entry after the force he used to open them. It would make quite an embarrassment during such a grand entry)._

"_I am truly touched by your warm welcome, but I just came here to see my cute grandson."__ said the new arrival._

_Nobody could deny that the words were respectful and sounded honest, yet the look in his eye was anything but. They almost seemed to glare at the Pureblood on who his gaze was focused. Even though they saw it, they would never speak up about it; Kaname knew what he was doing. It seemed however that Takuma was of a different mind, when he asked to move to another location._

_When Kaname turned his head to face his friend, the eyes of Ichiou narrowed at the sight that fell before him, the pulse point on the young royal__'__s neck. The middle aged man took a step towards the Kuran heir and gentle took his hand in his own __–__to the surprise of all- and brought it to his lips. With the sudden thought that their leader might be attacked, Ruka and Hanabusa were almost rushing towards Kaname to protect him._

_When without warning Ichiou smacked onto the floor._

_Nobody understood what happened until they looked up to the balcony and saw Yuuki with glowing crimson eyes staring towards the blond haired man lying on the floor. When the spectators (who still had not forgotten the event from a few weeks prior) looked back to Takuma__'__s grandfather, they wondered if she killed him. He wasn__'__t standing up. It wasn__'__t until they saw the air distorting above the councilmember that they knew _why_ he was still in the same position. The gravity was pressing him into the floor. Hard enough to slowly create a small crater around the man._

_Kaname looked at his princess and motioned for her to come down. And naturally everybody followed his line of sight. The girl stepped towards the banister, which seemed to bend to her will. The wood warped and shifted until a small passageway was created. She could have used the stairs a mere few steps away, but instead she walked over the edge and softly floated towards her lover. The people were gawking at her. How can somebody float so…so…gracefully, while only wearing a nightgown?_

_She landed next to her sibling, but didn__'__t look at him. Instead her eyes were focused on the man on the floor._

"_Yuuki, why are you down here?__"__ Kaname asked, gently brushing a stray brown look behind her ear._

"_I smelled something foul. Something that smelled…familiar. And when I came to look, I saw him touching you."__ was her reply._

_Everyone made a mental note to be careful when touching the prince, even if it was already a taboo to do so._

_With a small surge of energy, Ichiou shot up in the air, stopping half way to end up suspended in mid air. Without his face pasted on the floor, he could now finally see who this Yuuki was and recognition was clear on his face. It was no surprise; she was a spitting image of her mother._

_Before he could utter a word, he saw her looking at his right arm, the arm that _touched_ Kaname. He gulped nervously when he saw the murderous intent and he couldn__'__t help but think that this was bad. He was not easily frightened; he survived 600 years of assassination attempts and duels. He was even able to keep a certain Pureblood on a leash. But that was nothing compared to this._

"_That arm touched him. Do not touch what is mine.__"__ Was all the small girl said before within the blink of an eye, she had an arm in her small hand._

_It took everyone, even Kaname, a second to come to realize what just happened. Even the owner of the arm was stunned, before realization came to dawn in the form of an excruciating pain. Blood gushed out of his new wound and not even with his vampire regenerative abilities was he able to stop it. He screamed out, fearing that if it would not stop soon he would bleed out._

_The room was still silent, but instead of shock on their faces, it was now replaced with nothing but terror. Terror, because of the ease with which a powerful noble such as Ichiou lost a limb and the lack of emotion on the girls face. Nobody dared to move, not even to run away, in dread of drawing her focus. And if the gruesome sight of the severed limb and bleeding stump on a living person weren__'__t enough, the smell of burning flesh were enough to make some of the nobles retch on the spot._

_Yuuki__'__s hand was suddenly engulfed in a black flame, slowly devouring the arm held in her hand. And the agonizing screams of Ichiou got all the more severe. Was he feeling it burn? It sure looked like it._

"_What the…"__ breathed Akatsuki suddenly. _

_Aidou, who was standing next to him, asked what was wrong. He kept quiet when the arm was ripped off, but now that it was burning he spoke?_

"_She is wielding Hellfire. It took my father 50 years to be able to use it. It burns everything it touches and can only be extinguished when there is nothing left to burn, even the wielder if they are even the slightest bit careless. She has just been awake for three and a half weeks, how the hell is she using it."__ The fire-wielder exclaimed._

_Apparently he wasn__'__t the only one surprised. Kaname was thinking the same thing. Even if the girl in front of him was a natural with the elements, and in particular fire, it would take longer than the time she had been awake to master it to the degree she was displaying._

_When the flame finally burned the entire limb, the only visible sign was the smoke coming from the shoulder of the blond noble, still hanging in the air. Apparently there is some kind of connection between severed body parts and the original body, that when put back together, it heals. In this case however, the connection allowed the head of the Ichijou family to literally feel his arm burning. Luckily the burn closed the earlier wound; otherwise he would have bled out in mere seconds._

_It took Kaname a few whispers in the girl__'__s ear for her to release the airborne man and when she did, she merely turned around and made her way back to their room. But before she went out of sight, she took a good look at five particular individuals. Souen Ruka, Kain Akatsuki, Aidou Hanabusa, Ichijou Takuma and Shiki Senri. They had no idea what the look in her eyes was, but they still feared it and that night they were afraid to close their own._

_Ichiou left as soon as the princess was out of sight. He never said a word, but the glare he shot Kaname said volumes __'_this was far from over_'__. And with that, the man was gone._

_**End Flashback**_

Although the large group of vampires couldn't deny the gruesome sight of the earlier evening, her appearance now was merely breathtaking. The first time Lady Kuran appeared, she had on her Day Class uniform and her face was covered by a brown mop of hair. The second time, she wore a night gown and her hair was not as eerie as the first time, but still all over the place. Now however, she looked stunning.

She was wearing the Night Class uniform, which of course was tailor made, but only now could the benefits of it be seen. Her hourglass figure (thank you very much vampire genes) was nicely shown where the cloth hugged her frame. The white material accentuated the paleness of her skin, which seemed absolutely radiant in what little sunlight still shone. Where her cheeks had been bit chubby, baby fat really, her facial features were now well defined giving even Kaname a run for his money. Her chocolate brown eyes shining, showing exactly which family she was a part of.

But all of it was nothing compared to the gentle smile on her face. Most people did a double take when looking at it. Was this really the girl that plagued their dreams in recent nights, starting three weeks ago? Well, there won't be nightmares anymore. They would all be dreaming of the stunning girl with warm eyes and a kind smile, even though it was all directed at her beloved brother.

The siblings stepped down on the floor and Kaname greeted his bowing subjects with a small smile and a curt greeting. Yuuki however looked surprised at the fact that they were no longer alone. Her eyes flashed from Chocolate to Copper and to top it off, she dropped to a polite bow.

"**Good evening everyone."** the girl said way too polite for it to come from a Pureblood. Really, it was like she was talking to a superior, or a senior.

All her subjects looked upon one another, before nervously returning the greeting.

"**Yuuki…"** the pureblood prince started, he too was surprised by the change in persona.

The girl looked up anxiously. The switch between two completely different personalities was mind staggering.

"**Did I do something wrong, Kaname-sama? Was I not supposed to greet them?****"**

'_Kaname-SAMA? Didn__'__t she call him Big brother last time?__'__, __'__did a pureblood just bow to us?__'__ and __'__did her eyes change colors just now?__'_were the most common thoughts, but the people that knew her before 'the awakening' recognized it. It was exactly the way she would have reacted before regaining her pureblood status.

Hanabusa, Ruka, Akatsuki and Takuma were baffled; did the girl have a split personality? After all the power and authority she displayed, the terror she invoked, was she now acting to be innocent? They took a glance at their Dorm President and saw that he was looking quite curious as well. However, curiosity was not the only emotion displayed on his face, there was also something akin to understanding, like he just figured something out. They decided not to ask anything about it and ignored the small mishap. After all, it was not like she was maiming a noble in front of their eyes…again.

Kaname looked upon his beloved and wondered what on earth was happening. She was so… Yuuki just now, the Yuuki he had loved since birth, so eager to please, kind and polite, while just yesterday she was on the verge of murdering somebody because of…jealousy? But when he saw the copper brown eyes he had grown accustomed to the past ten years, a small sentence shot through his mind, _"__Now both of us feel that there isn__'__t a barrier holding us back, or stopping us from loving you__"_ _was what she said. Maybe the seal fragmented her soul, in turn creating a new personality, a human one and a vampire one, in order to put a lid on the vampire side. It would certainly explain the words she mentioned before and why her eye color changed like that. _If his hypothesis was correct, it would explain why the differences in attitude were so great.

Not spending any more time dallying about, the now complete group made their way to school. It was high time for Yuuki to start her formal education.

Yuuki however, was nervous. She would now be passing the screaming girls that she would normally be keeping in check. What made it worse was that it was the day before Valentine's Day. The girls already hated her because she was close to Kaname-sama and knew the other Night Class students by affiliation. Now she was even walking with them. But what scared her the most, was containing Kuran Yuuki and her jealous outbursts. Would she keep quiet seeing her lover receive so much attention from other girls? What about tomorrow, when they are literally confessing their love, with presents to boot?

'_Ah well, the only thing I can do now is make my first appearance as Yuuki of the Night Class__'__._

_._

An hour later, when she was seated in the classroom listening to the teacher wrapping up class, the girl found that the first time seeing the Day Class in her current situation went not nearly as bad as she thought it would have been. Yes, the girls gave her cold glares and vicious remarks, but they didn't mob her like they normally would. The boys on the other hand were very…appreciative of her. It was not something she expected, while she was a classmate, they never looked at her, now their drooling stares made her more self-conscious than what even _she_ was used to. Still, thanks to Kaname, the nasty girls and lecherous boys were quieted quickly and she was able to continue to class. Yet one thing bothered her.

But Zero wasn't there.

And it was noticeable but also not at the same time. The crowd was more rowdy, but seemed to know their limits. Maybe it was the shock of seeing their former fellow Day Class classmate/prefect among the sophisticated and gorgeous Night Class? Who knows? But Yuuki had hoped to talk to him. Hoping that her friend and foster-brother would still be the same, would still treat her the same. She knew how strongly he felt about vampires after all. But she hadn't had the chance to talk to him yet and now, when she was finally outside of her room, he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

The princess stopped her silent musing when a new presence was felt on the other side of the door. A new 'skill' she found quite handy. A tall dark figure walked in, covering his face with a book. The title wasn't unreadable, but judging by the hour, it was an educated guess to think it was the book for Ethics, which made the man their professor. The strange part however was the fact that the newcomer was a human. Who was this human, to act like it was normal to teach a group of vampi-…?

"My name is Toga Yagari and I will be your new Ethics teacher…vampires," the now introduced teacher said smirking. His one baby blue eye twinkling with mirth.

A few of the vampires gasped softly at hearing the name. It was quite an infamous one in vampire society. Yuuki, being pretty new in it, hadn't the slightest and looked questioning towards her lover. He simply smiled at her before Ruka answered for him by asking her own question.

"Yagari?" Ruka said suspiciously "That's the same name of the current 'number one' vampire hunter."

Yuuki looked back and forth between her brother and the new teacher during their banter, not really following the banter as the tension in the room was suffocating her. She did pick up one line from Toga though.

"I wouldn't mind adding you to my kill-list if you were to slack during my classes, Kuran Kaname" it was probably meant as a joke, as the man said it with a smile instead of a predatory grin, that would normally accompany such a threatening remark.

The tension snapped. The nobles started to rise out of their seat, ready to teach the impudent human a lesson in respect, but the book that the teacher had put down on his stand vaporized. Yagari looked amused; maybe he had a chance to rid the world of a few bloodsuckers after all. He looked up to find the culprit, who was easily found, only one of the students had a darkness surrounding her that made the others shrink back in their seats. He was surprised though to see the girl that he saw earlier that evening on pictures with Kaien on said man's desk.

"Yuuki, it's okay. He was merely joking." Kaname tried to diffuse the situation.

He looked towards the teacher, hinting him to play along. Yagari somewhat understood the situation from what he heard from both Zero and the headmaster. Even if he wanted to kill a bloodsucker or two, even better if they were of pureblood status, Kaien would murder him if he so much as touch this one. So he did what was expected of him, he chuckled.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to break the state of pacifism that Headmaster Cross has worked so hard to achieve." Kaien would owe him big time for this.

He was not surprised by the act of hostility, but he was though, when the girl looked horrified and shot out of her seat, and started to apologize extensively. He looked around to check whether or not this was a joke, but when he noticed that all the other vampires looking uncomfortable, he figured that this was probably well meant. Even with the Kuran heir trying to console her, he figured he should say something to get her to stop.

"That is quite alright," this time the fact that he had to force his laugh was visible to all, except for Yuuki apparently ",I guess I went a little bit too far."

The girl looked relieved! Was she really a pureblood? The few he had met over time were all more arrogant than a room full of Level B's. He would get an explanation for this. He needed to know if he was to prepare for an unstable pureblood if he wanted to protect the Day Class. When all was said and done, he simply left, making his way to the Headmasters office.

.

"Yo Yagari-kun, how was your first day?" Kaien with his trademark goofy smile plastered on.

"Not bad, if I don't take an attack from a Pureblood into account. But you have some explaining to do. How is _your_ daughter a Pureblood?"

The blond human turned serious in an instant and looked long and hard at his former colleague. He knew there was no way around it, but had hoped to postpone it a bit longer. After a few silent moments Kaien motioned for Yagari to sit. He looked once more towards the man on the other side of his desk before he let out a sigh.

"It was 21 years ago that I first met Juuri and Haruka..."

And so the retelling of the past began.

* * *

><p><strong>So I hope this chapter was to satisfaction. Any comments and ideas are welcome, so please don't be shy and tell me what you think.<strong>


	15. Chapter 15 Clarity

**Authors Note:**** A new chapter finished. I hope you will all be able to enjoy it.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15 - Clarity<strong>

Kuran Kaname always loved watching his beloved princess. It didn't even matter what state she was in, she was always enchanting to him. Even right now, Yuuki was anxious, she couldn't stop fidgeting, shifting in her seat. Kaname watched silently; he knew what was wrong, but he wouldn't help her with this. He wanted to, but he knew that Yuuki wouldn't like it; feeling smothered again, too overprotected. So he just…watched.

The anxiety had started in class, when it had become obvious that the others were wary, if not frightened of her. Only then did she seem to 'remember' what she had done in the last few weeks. That only consolidated Kaname's theory; two souls meant two sets of memories. When the fidgeting stopped, the pureblood prince curiously looked at the determined girl now standing before him. He would approve anything she would ask of him of course, but he decided to indulge his curiosity and see what she had to say first.

"Kaname-sen…Kaname, can I ask for Seiren-senpai's assistance?"

Without feeling the need to reply, he called the requested bodyguard from her current hiding place.

A whoosh alerted them she was present before the violet haired girl stepped out of the shadows.

As silent as ever, she bowed in respect and awaited her orders while she stood at attention.

"Kaname, could you give us some privacy please?" The man didn't see that one coming, but he trusted Seiren, so he got up, placed a soft kiss on his fiancée's lips and left the room.

The girls looked at each other, lilac eyes turned confused. Yuuki was pouting. "Eavesdropping defies the purpose of leaving to give us privacy." the smaller girl said simply.

Seiren never looked away when the princess snapped her fingers and brought up a barrier. "This will stop him from listening in," Yuuki said proudly. Seiren just kept her stoic expression in place, not being aware that THIS Yuuki had just successfully used her power for the first time.

The surprises weren't over though for the bodyguard, because without warning the Pureblood bowed down and apologized for her behavior the other day. Seiren had absolutely no idea what to do; for once her expression was not stoic. Now that was strange; a monarch was bowing their head to her instead. The taller girl was scrambling for words to placate the lady before her, but could not think of any. So she did the first thing that came to mind, later scolding herself for her disregard of etiquette. She placed her hand on Yuuki's shoulder and when the recipient looked up, she tried to give her most reassuring smile. It felt awkward for the noble, not being used to displays of emotion. Luckily the act had its desired result, because the Pureblood gave her a warm smile, causing Seiren to flush slightly. She wasn't used to people paying attention to her, let alone show her kindness.

"Thank you Seiren-senpai." The bodyguard just nodded, already replacing her everyday mask. "Could you help me with something?"

"I await your orders, Yuuki-sama."

* * *

><p>Aidou Hanabusa was worried. Well, scared would be a better word for it. Seiren had just notified him that Kuran Yuuki requested his presence. While the past few day had been relatively quiet, one simply does not forget the way she drank his blood so forcefully the last time they came face to face. But Kaname interrupted them, intentionally saving him or not, and he would most likely make sure nothing got out of hand now. He hoped.<p>

He reached the dorm president's office and was surprised to see the owner of the room standing outside. Not forgetting to pay respects, he bowed slightly and greeted his leader. He was curious, but he knew that there was another Pureblood waiting for him and since the waiting one had quite the temper, he didn't ask the man in front of him just _why_ he was standing outside. Hesitantly proceeding towards the door, he knocked three times and entered the office when the occupant told him to do so.

"Yuuki-sama….you wanted to see me?"

The petite girl started fidgeting again; she could barely meet the worried eyes staring intently at her. But she had already come so far and asked him to come to her; she simply had to see this through. So with another snap of her fingers, she erected a new sound barrier.

Aidou was for his part getting more and more nervous. And curious. Why was Kaname outside? Why did they need a sound barrier? He had tons of questions to ask, but they were put on hold when the girl started talking again.

"Please forgive me, Aidou-senpai." her posture was even apologetic. Aidou's jaw went slack. Did a Pureblood just apologize? To _him?_

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Uhm" she started nervously. Was he angry? "Aidou-senpai?"

He knew she could only be apologizing to _him_ for one thing. "I do not believe you have done anything that needs an apology, Yuuki-sama." The blond bowed respectfully.

"But I drank your blood…without permission…I almost drai-"

"It is the duty of the nobles to serve our monarchs," he cut her off abruptly, hoping he wasn't overstepping any boundaries, "If it is my blood you desire, it would be my honor to give it to you." Hanabusa bowed down to one knee while pressing his right hand to his heart to prove his point.

"Th-thank you, Aidou-senpai." It sounded like he forgave her? She smiled gently at the boy.

"Yuuki-sama, you shouldn't address me as 'senpai; it is not appropriate for someone of your status to place me ahead of yourself." he said earnestly.

She remembered her brother telling her that the balance between the monarchs and aristocrats was maintained by upholding a certain power-distance. She didn't like it when people placed her on a high pedestal, but she had no choice in the matter. So all she could do was let out a small sigh and nodded her acquiescence.

"Before you go, I have one question, Aidou –kun…"

"Of course, Yuuki-sama" she started blushing. What could she possibly want to ask of HIM that would cause such a reaction?

"Does Kaname like sweets?"

"….HUH?!"

* * *

><p>Souen Ruka was a high class lady who had learned to keep her emotions under control since an early age. Her mother was not a forgiving person towards the only girl amongst three elder brothers. She had to be perfect and so she did everything in her ability to meet her mother's expectations. So she was, after being brutally educated by the best of the best, quite proud to be a class apart from others girls her age and social standing. But even with all the training she had undergone in the past to conceal her emotions, the fear she felt now was not something that could be suppressed. She would have to see Akatsuki, even if it could only be for a moment, just to calm down. He always had that mysterious effect on her and she needed it now, possibly more than ever.<p>

Five minutes earlier she had been informed by Seiren that Yuuki wanted to see her and after stalling a bit she made her way to the princess. Who knows what would happen this time if she angered her. Luckily she would pass by Kain's room for a brief glance before continuing, but to her disappointment, he was not present. So she just moved forward, possibly too slow, to her destination.

It was a great relief when she found fiery red hair waiting outside the room of the dorm president. She was flooded with relief and wanted to rush to him, but she saw he had an unexpected companion.

She bowed to the Kuran prince and could find no more excuse to stall the inevitable. She stole a quick glance at Akatsuki and was comforted slightly by his reassuring smile and opened the door. He was there for her and now she could at least enter the door and hope for the best.

She was happy though when she met the copper brown eyes that were looking at her. She still remembered when last evening they met up. Her eye colour seemed to change to this colour instead of the Kuran Chocolate and her whole attitude seemed to revert back to the one of the Cross Yuuki she knew and previously hated –now she loved it in comparison to the 'new' Yuuki; she just hoped that her observation was correct.

"Souen-senp-…Souen-san, thank you for coming …I'm sorry!" she nearly went into a dogeza but refrained herself after remembering her conversations with the other nobles. It was bad enough she was bowing her head to yet _another_ person.

Ruka never did like Yuuki, for always having Kaname's undivided attention, and even though she was starting to get over that, she now has a new reason to feel annoyed with the girl. She kept leaving a highly sophisticated lady speechless. First by fear, then by nerves and now with surprise. Well, it couldn't be helped, the taller girl thought, the situation is quite ridiculous and that is not to be blamed on her. The Souen lady had matured, having to deal with the absurdities of the past weeks had changed her greatly.

"Yuuki-sama, you are supposed to…" Ruka began. _'Might as well give her, her first lesson in etiquette now.._

When after ten minutes or so, the brunette finally finished listening to the 'proper' way of apologizing, the apology itself was completely forgotten. The silence was awkward, that was for sure, but neither woman had any idea how to breach the silence enveloping them. So they just stuck with it.

When the blond was ready to leave she was ONCE AGAIN startled when Yuuki broke the silence with a question so bizarre it stunned her into silence.

"Souen-san, do you know how to make chocolate?"

"…I beg your pardon?"

* * *

><p>Miwasaki Fujino prided herself in her experience. For the past three centuries she has served almost a dozen noble families and as such had witnessed the most absurd things. She thought she could have said that she had seen everything and she could not witness anything now that would elicit a reaction from her. She had seen the taboo relations between parent and child, forbidden love between noble men, the sick fetishes of the most powerful and even the strange hobbies of…people better left unnamed. Yet for all her years dealing with such situations, she found herself stunned, gaping at the probably the strangest thing she had and will ever encounter. Not 6 feet away from her, Kuran Kaname, Kain Akatsuki and Shiki Senri, three of the most prominent vampire's in the hidden society, were sheepishly sitting in front of the door leading to the kitchen.<p>

Yup, _now _she had seen everything.

**30 minutes prior**

Touya Rima had absolutely no idea how she got herself into her current mess. One second she was just eating pocky with Senri and the next she was coerced into making chocolate in the kitchen with Yuuki and Ruka. She could understand Yuuki, being the type of person she was, of course she wanted to give her love homemade chocolates. But why was Ruka here?

'_Oh yeah, now I remember' _she thought to herself. About half an hour ago, the two aforementioned ladies burst into her room asking her to help make chocolates. She never should've mentioned to Ruka that she gave homemade pocky to Senri every year. Ah well, maybe it could alleviate the boredom and besides, she couldn't refuse a Pureblood now could she?

The young model looked at her two companions and had to refrain from rolling her eyes; how clumsy can someone get? Dropping pots, cutlery and even ingredients all over the place. Still after some work, they had finally proceeded as far as getting melted chocolate.

"What do we need to do now, Touya-senp…san?" the brunette clearly still had trouble addressing people with a somewhat informal honorific.

"Add a bit of your blood to it, that way he'll surely like it."

The two novices looked curiously at their 'instructor', not sure they had heard the last ingredient correctly. But when they did, they witnessed as Rima nicked her finger and let a steady stream of the crimson liquid fall into the brown sweetness. Silently debating the issue mentally, the brunette and the blond gulped once, blinked twice and placed a small cut in their fingers as well, letting their life-source flow into the melted chocolate. Rima had said to let it go until the wound closes, but since Yuuki was a pureblood she had to do it twice.

When red was busy getting mixed with brown, the three girls jumped up when a mop of fire-red, bistre brown and mahogany brown hair burst through the door.

"Yuuki…!"

"Ruka…!"

"…Rima?"

Two heads instantly snapped up at the sound of their names being called and blushed hotly when they saw who came in, and more importantly what they could see now that they _were_ here. Yuuki, being the clumsiest girl here, was covered with brown stains, but Ruka wasn't without her own chocolate smudges. The only one without a spot on her was Rima. Quickly trying to hide the –now ruined?- surprise, Yuuki literally charged towards the three invaders and pushed them with all their might out of the kitchen, almost wrecking the wall in the process.

The three man impacted against the wall on the other side of the hallway while staring dumbfounded by what just happened. Three full grown men just got knocked 6 feet through the air by a girl half their size, well of at least two of them. And one of the trio was even a Pureblood.

So when Miwasaki Fujino arrived 5 minutes later, there was only one thing she could think of. _Yup, now I've seen everything now._

* * *

><p>Cross Yuuki was by nature a very nervous girl. Even more so if Kuran Kaname was involved. The past few weeks, with all the revelations and developments, didn't help her get over her nervousness, not in the slightest.<p>

There were two reasons – well three if you counted Kaname's involvement- she was anxious this time around. The first one meaning she was giving her homemade Valentine's day gift to Kaname and with it, her heart and self. The second one came arising as a result of the burning need to conform to something. She needed to ask a question and was afraid of the answer.

Ever since the vampire side in her had reawakened, one question burned in her mind every minute of every day. '_Does Kaname love me for who I am or does he love me for who I am supposed to be?'_ Even though she was scared of his reply, she needed to hear his answer if she was to move forward, one way or another.

When the two Yuukis started talking all those weeks ago, they mostly talked about small, superficial things. Favourite food (not counting Kaname's blood), colour and books. As time progressed, the subjects of their talks became more serious. Greatest fears, dislikes and interests. It came as no surprise that Kaname was the subject of almost all the topics (all of them even if he was counted as favourite food).

What did come as a surprise however, was that they shared an opinion on absolutely everything. Clothes, people and even (vampire) politics. Because of this, the bond between the two teenagers became stronger and they grew closer every day. Neither of them seemed to notice, that the background in which they met (the snowy forest scene, where one of them ended and the other one began), slowly began to fade. They only noticed it when their bond was at its strongest and neither the snow or the trees could be seen anymore. The day the two consciousnesses had split into two souls had created a gap between them that was slowly disappearing, only one thing kept the two apart; this question. A question that Cross Yuuki desperately needed Kaname to answer. And Kuran Yuuki would wait until her other half got her closure.

When Yuuki finally got her chocolate out of the refrigerator, she bid her three 'friends-in-the-making' goodbyes and slowly walked towards the chambers of her target. She knew she should just get it over with, but she was purposefully dragging her feet, just to buy her some extra time to steel her nerves. She couldn't falter. Not this time.

The brunette managed to stall for a few precious minutes before she finally faced the double door to Kaname's office. She knew that he could already sense her presence, but this ordeal had to follow a certain procedure, that was the only way she could go through with it. So she knocked three times and waited for him to permit her to enter.

She didn't have to wait long, since the door was opened by the tall man before she even returned her hand to her side. She looked up and saw his eyes warm when they were looking into her own. She nearly melted at the sight. It took her a few seconds to realize he invited her inside, but when she did, she stepped into the room determined. A few steps into the room Yuuki turned around and waited for Kaname to close the door. As soon as their eyes met again, she closed hers, took a deep breath and looked up at him with determination in her eyes.

"Kaname, can we talk?"

Said man was slightly shocked at the seriousness of her tone–though he didn't show it. When he saw her holding a small box with a ribbon tied around it in her hands, he figured she would (finally) give him a Valentine's gift. But now he didn't know what to expect. With Yuuki, anything and everything was possible.

With a nod of acquiescence, he took a seat on the sofa. He watched his lover take a seat beside him and waited for her to begin.

"Will you accept my feelings?" she half screamed while practically pushing the homemade chocolate in his hands.

To say that the brunette prince was amused was quite the understatement. He was pleasantly surprised to find his suspicion about his beloved giving him a Valentine gift come true after all. Yet at the same time he was confused. He did express his love for her in more ways than one after all. Was this another dual-soul thing again? In any case, he felt it necessary to answer her as reassuringly as he could. He lifted his hand to caress her cheek.

"Yuuki, I not only accept your feelings, but everything you are." He smiled at her.

The look of confusion and hurt on Kaname's face did not escape Yuuki when she pulled away from his hand. She wanted him to touch her, to feel his hand stroke her cheek in the loving way he most probably intended. But she knew better than anyone that if he did, she would simply melt and would be incapable of proceeding. Instead of leaning her face into his palm, she opted to take his hand into both her smaller ones and looked him straight into the eyes; smiling gently at him as she did so.

"Kaname, I need to ask you something."

The man just looked at her. No expression on his face as he nodded for her to continue,

The girl once more closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth.

"Will you accept my feelings?" the small girl half shouted, pushing her homemade chocolates in his chest.

Bewildered, the tall man looked at the girl in front of him. Over the last couple of weeks he was unsure of what to expect anymore. He was pretty sure that the girl in front of him had two souls, meaning that there were two personalities inside if her. Of course, since the seal that was used to lock Yuuki's vampire side up was among the forbidden techniques, even he had no idea what the consequences were. He had only seen it happen once, it being invented during his sleep and all. So he had no idea if his thesis was correct. But he had hoped that even if that were the case that his feelings towards her would not be doubted, by either one of the female personalities residing in the body. Apparently he had to make himself clear once again. He didn't mind though, he would take from now till the end of time to show his love.

"Yuuki, I accept your feelings and everything else that you are or have." he slowly reached out his hand to her, trying to cup her cheek in his hand.

He couldn't help the look of hurt that spread along his face when she pulled away again. Did he say something wrong? He wanted to ask her, but he saw that she noticed his reaction and cupped his larger hand in her smaller ones. She slowly brought it towards her and held the appendage in her lap, fiddling with his fingers while averting her eyes from his gaze.

"Thank you." She shyly smiled up at him.

He was not assured though. And his expression must have told it. If she accepted him and was happy about his reply, then why would she pull away when he was about to touch her? Did she still doubt him?

"Then I need to ask you one more question." The little lady looked up at him again and he saw that determined look again. So there **was** more.

"I need to know…who do you love more? The Yuuki from before the night our parents were killed or the Yuuki after that night?" The look she gave him was making him itch to hold her. She looked so…so…insecure.

His answer would never change.

"There has never been a difference."

"…"

"The Yuuki before and after that night has been the only one that was able to understand me with just a simple look. Instinctively you knew if I was either sad or angry while everyone else thought I was emotionless. In 2000 years, you have been the only one able to, not only know what I am thinking, but also complete me like you do."

His words were like a soothing balm on her doubting soul. Every doubt that she had about her being a simple replacement, some unwelcome by-product of past events, were completely erased. Now, after all those days worrying and doubting, she felt she was able to move on. So now she just had one more thing left to say.

"Thank you." The small brunette said with the most peaceful smile on her face he had ever seen. What surprised him though, was the fact that he heard it in stereo. He could have sworn that he saw double, when a ghost like Yuuki, slightly behind her, smiled at him with the same peaceful expression the corporeal one had.

The girl sitting beside him closed her eyes and slumped down in her sitting position on the couch next to him. The taller brunette had no trouble catching her. Yet the fainting came so unannounced that he was slightly panicked. The fact that his love was not opening her eyes send him reeling with fear. What the hell happened?

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><p>"<em>It's enough isn't it?" Kuran Yuuki asked her human self.<em>

"_You were right all along. If even Kaname doesn't see the difference between us, it should be alright." The human smiled._

_Even though she said the words, the vampire could see the lingering fear in her eyes._

"_We are the same, Yuuki-chan, we always have been. The only difference between us is where you are human, I am vampire."_

_The Kuran princess could all too well understand the doubts in the mind of the daughter of Cross, she was feeling the same fear. Fear of losing oneself. But she also knew with almost 100% certainty that nothing would change in who they were. This needed to be done, otherwise they would never be whole._

"_Yeah…I guess."_

_The two Yuuki's stood in front of each other and gently grasped each other's hand. Without any effort they were synchronizing. Memories of her parents invaded Cross Yuuki's mind while memories of Cross Kaien and his silly tendencies flooded into Kuran Yuuki's. They were finally fusing with each other, leaving the uncertainties of each other behind and face the future, together, as one._

_When the two girls finally had a complete set of memories, their astral form started to merge. _

_A small flicker of fear ran through their mind, before a strange warmth enveloped them. When they were almost completely merged, the two ladies took one look around, saying goodbye to the white forest that separated them so long ago. A gentle smile appeared on their face as they looked at each other._

_When the two were finally one, the image of a lonesome girl in the middle of a deserted forest slowly faded away, when one thought, one statement ran through both space and mind._

"_Finally complete again."_

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><p>When one Kuran Yuuki awoke in the arms of her lover, she could only smile up at him, if only to wipe away the fear on his face. Snuggling deeper with her face into his warm embrace. She let out a small contented sigh.<p>

"I'm home, Kaname."

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><p><strong>Somebody requested longer chapters, so here is my attempt at providing. <strong>

**Since my inspiration is running short lately and the time I have available to write is decreasing, I would love to hear suggestions from the audience. I am not saying I will use any or all, but just to see what people would like to see. Hopefully that will cause an influx of ideas :D**

Hope to see you all back when my next chapter comes out.


	16. Chapter 16 - Hatred

******Autor's Note:**** I know that it has been a while, I hope that the chapter was worth the wait. This chapter focuses more on other characters, I dodn't want the story to just be about Yuuki and Kaname.**

**Please Enjoy**

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><p><strong>Chapter 16 <strong>**–**** Hatred**

Two months. Two months he had been stuck in this thrice damned cell, chained to a wall like an animal. He almost couldn't believe it. He had figured that he would be used to it by now; his body locked away in the dark, just as his mind was trapped within its own cell. The body of a filthy monster. But left alone, in the cold, with nothing but the memories of those disgusting Purebloods plaguing him day and night, he had almost begun to think that maybe his own body wasn't so bad…almost. Of course his body was the reason he was isolated from all but the agony. Constantly battling the urge to feed, to feast on the life force of all the ignorant souls he could smell even in the dark, loneliness of his cell.

One thing more than any other made his suffering burn even more, made the pain even more unbearable than he thought was possible and that was the memory, of a girl he had once trusted, her betrayal echoing around his head. Replaying over and over again in the darkness. Cross Yuuki, no, not Cross Yuuki, the deceiving Kuran Yuuki, the only person he had ever let into his heart, since the night his family was taken from him. A Pureblood, a creature made to torment him and even worse sister of his nemesis. Zero did not know which aspect of the whole situation made him more disgusted.

He could hardly fathom how she had deceived him for four long years. Sweet talking him, trying to build a connection, lamenting the fact she didn't know her past, didn't know who she really was. Damn, he played right into her hands. How she must have laughed at him. Knowing he believed her, had tried to 'comfort' her in his own strange way. Even trying to protect her from the freaks of nature she had apparently belonged to all along. Damn the Purebloods for using him for their amusement.

First Hiou Shizuka not killing him; just biting him and watching him succumb to the despair, and the madness of Level E. Then Kuran Kaname, manipulating him into doing whatever he wanted –even now he has no idea what he did to serve the King's purposes- and last but not least, Kuran Yuuki, who has used him for her personal entertainment.

He would kill Shizuka as soon as he could. He knew enough of Purebloods to know that as his sire, she has a certain amount of control over him; he had to make that one quick. To his utter disappointment. But for the two 'monarchs' of Vampire society, he would make them suffer. Just as they had made him suffer during the four agonizingly painful years he had spent battling the curse, keeping his evil at bay.

Suddenly, the silver haired boy was interrupted from his murderous thoughts, when he felt another presence within the four cold walls, one he recognized immediately.

"Kuran Kaname." the hunter spit out.

"Hello, Kiryuu-kun." the monarch said, his expression stoic as always.

"Come to gloat at me? See how I have fallen?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.

"No. I have come because I still have use for you, but not in the state you are now. That must be remedied."

The Kuran Patriarch stepped forward, smoothly and elegantly. With one quick motion, too fast for the falling hunter to follow, the silver-haired boy felt the smooth texture of blood on his lips, the richest he had ever tasted (though he did not have much experience with different tastes, having only drunk from Yuuki).

The boy wanted to spit it out, but Kaname's forearm was firmly pressed to his lips, leaving no room to do so. He wanted to battle against the thirst within him more, push it back, but he could already feel his inner vampire winning. And when the first drop slid down his throat, he knew he had lost, the urge becoming too great to withstand.

Mouthfuls of the crimson liquid were gulped down in mere seconds. The bearer of lilac eyes could already feel the beast within him starting to settle. After the 6th swallow of blood, he could finally compose himself enough to stop drinking completely. He stared into the tall man's eyes, silently relaying his satiated thirst. Kaname understood the unspoken message, although if it was through mind reading or his ability to read body language Zero was uncertain.

The brunette withdrew his arm, took out a disposable handkerchief from his inner pocket and cleaned his forearm; he did not want the saliva of this filthy creature on him any longer then absolutely necessary. When he was done he simply burned it, removing the last trace of filth in his personal space.

"What now? You want me to act like your personal lapdog?" Zero mockingly said.

"Please Kiryuu-kun; I don't want you any closer to me or my Yuuki than absolutely necessary. All you will do," Kaname didn't even ask it; the boy would do it or he wouldn't do anything every again, "is to protect the students of the Academy."

The silver-haired hunter gritted his teeth, '_one more reason to torture the bastard__'_ he thought to himself. But he couldn't find anything bad in it. He still would have the chance to kill any vampire, if the reasons were 'valid' _of course_. And besides that, he could move around freely here, something he would not be able to do if he was banished from the campus. Banishment would make revenge all the more difficult.

"I accept." The boy said after some minor contemplation.

"Glad that you decide to do it the easy way." The vampire king said while retreating into the shadows.

Just when he was got out of sight, Zero could just pick up a smirk on the older man's face before he heard, "Yagari-san should be here in the morning to check up on you, then you can resume your duties." And that was all Zero heard before the presence of the monarch was no longer in the room. All he had to do now was wait, until his mentor got here to release him.

'_And then I can take my time torturing the freaks__…'_

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><p><em>Dear dairy,<em>

_Today, more so than any other day in the last month of training, I thought about Yuuki-chan. Who would have guessed what would come to the surface after her disappearance two months ago? I never would. And I still have trouble wrapping my head around all of it. Vampires exist and all this time they have literally been living next door. I suppose I should be scared; in all of the books I have read they are depicted as vile, evil creatures that drink the blood of young virgins before killing them or turning them into their bride. But I guess it__'__s because of Yuuki that I__'__m not. I mean, she obviously knew and she wasn__'__t scared. She treated them the same as she treated everyone else. So did Zero-kun. So they can__'__t be all that bad. Besides, the books are kind of faulty now that I think about it. They walk in daylight, eat pocky and most importantly, they haven__'__t slaughtered us all during the last few years that they have been staying here. There haven__'__t even been mysterious disappearances or sudden cases of anemia, so I guess everything is safe. _

_But enough about that. I have decided that besides the general bubbly air that the Headmaster gives off…he is a demon in disguise. I always wondered how Yuuki always stayed so slim despite out-eating nearly every grown boy on campus. I have found out the hard way…it was because of the demonic training schedule I have to follow. Who knew that to become a prefect took so much blood, sweat and tears. But I guess it is important, one does not keep a vampire in check by whimpering like a lost little girl. I just wish I could share it with Yuuki. I hope I__'__ll see her soon._

_Aidou visited me again today. At first I was pretty suspicious of him, with the reputation he has with the girls. I honestly didn't understand what all the fuss was about as far as he was concerned. Sure, he is handsome, I won__'__t deny that. But he CERTAINLY isn__'__t the God-send every squealing girl on campus makes him out to be. I am, however, very grateful to him though, without him, I would never have found out that Yuuki was safe. Heck, I never would have found out that she became a vampire either. I wish she would have told me herself, but senpai told me that she needs to rest because of the transformation. By the way, I found that senpai is a huge blabbermouth and that I can easily weasel a lot of information from him, although I don__'__t think he__'__s told a lot of secrets. Ah well, at least I know what__'__s going on with Yuuki and I kind of enjoy his company now that Yuuki is gone. Even though he is quite silly sometimes. Well that was it for today._

_Yours,_

_Sayori,_

_P.S. I start training the whip tomorrow; I think I can give Aidou-senpai a good scare with it :3_

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><p><em>Dear Diary,<em>

_Today was another day that seemed to be both boring and interesting. Boring, because I have yet to find another subject to write a paper about. A genius such as I needs something to work on. Especially because none of the people around here are of the same level as yours truly, but that__'__s a given. I still have the suspicion that Kaname-sama is smarter than me, at the very least in science, but I have never been able to ask him or have a good sit down with him to swap theories._

_Interesting because I have once again visited Wakaba-san. I never would__'__ve thought it possible, but I find myself interested in the human girl. She is unlike other women. She doesn__'__t fawn over me or squeal when I__'__m in the vicinity. When I first talked to her, around the time Kaname-sama wanted me to investigate the strange behavior of Yuuki-sama; I was put off by the lack of enthusiasm towards me. It was the first time that a woman, particularly a human woman, didn__'__t react to the beauty that is I__. __Even when Yuuki-sama was still Cross Yuuki, she reacted to me, but not this girl. After that initial meeting, I saw it as a challenge, needing to prove to myself that I can have any woman I want. Now though, I find myself caring less about that, and truly want her attention. I hope Akatsuki never finds out about it, he has a lot to pay me back for, with all my jokes about him and Ruka. Still I have visited her quite a lot during the past two months. First to keep her up to date about Yuuki, they were best friends after all; if something happened to either one of my cousins I would hope someone would do the same for me. But now…I just like hanging out with her. Oh how the mighty has fallen, one of the most high ranked nobles falling for a mere human, yet I cannot bring myself to care. Food for thought I guess. Hey, maybe I can write a paper about it. Psychology isn__'__t really my field, but with my intelligence I think I can expand. Yes I think I will, so the days will be less boring._

"Hanabusa, are you writing in a diary again?"

"Shut up Akatsuki, it's a journal. Men don't write in diaries, they write journals."

"…It's pink. With little hearts on it." The tall fire-wielder dead-panned.

_I think I will try to pull a quick one on my cousin, and I think it will involve his little interest. Must not let him find out about it though; I like my hair on my head._

_The last thing that happened today was that I have lost yet another pack of pocky. I swear to God that I hid it well. My suspicion is that involves the stoic duo, again. They must think this is a game or something. I__'__ll drug the next batch, get them back for all the times they stole my treat. That__'__ll teach them._

_See you tomorrow,_

_Hanabusa_

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><p>In the Headmasters office, the blond was sitting behind his desk working on the bane of every man and woman in a leading position: paperwork. It was for this reason that he was relieved, more so than would be necessary (his level of necessary at least), when he heard three knocks. Already knowing who was on the other side of the door.<p>

"Come in Kaname-kun". Said the older man.

Shutting the door behind him upon entry, the vampire took three steps before he leveled his gaze upon his 'parents'' friend.

"You wished to see me, Headmaster?"

All the silliness aside, the blond searched his somewhat messy desk, fishing out a dossier among the scattered paperwork. He handed it to the Dorm President of the Night Class.

"We have a new applicant for the Moon Dorm. But I cannot grant her permission to enter without your approval."

The two men discussed the new student and her time of arrival and then separated. When the monarch was out of hearing range he couldn't help the hint of satisfaction in his voice as he spoke into the night.

"All according to plan."

It truly was too easy to plan ahead when so many pawns on his life-sized chessboard acted on hatred.

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><p><strong>I hope it was satisfying, let me hear your thought, I'm always open to suggestion.<strong>

**Thanks again to Crikeywhathappened for the perfect Beta-ing service while she has so much work to do in her personal life. My gratitude is ever high.**


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